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When a woman loses one or both breasts, their emotional health can often be deeply affected. Many women feel that femininity, maternity, and sexiness are all tied to their breasts, and it can feel life-altering when they are no longer there. With the help of breast reconstruction surgery at Dr. Andrews Plastic Surgery, you can once again feel good about yourself and your body.
What is Breast Reconstruction?
Breast reconstruction is typically done at a difficult time in many people’s lives. Losing one or both breasts can deeply affect a woman’s emotional well-being. After undergoing a mastectomy or another surgery that affects your breasts, breast reconstruction surgery can give you back your confidence and your feeling of self.
Breast reconstruction at Dr. Andrews Plastic Surgery can restore the breasts you’ve lost due to cancer or other circumstances.
Who is a Good Candidate For Breast Reconstruction?
There are some qualifications that make someone a good candidate for breast reconstruction, including:
- Realistic expectations
- Having one or more breasts removed
- Being able to cope with your diagnosis and treatment
- Not having any additional medical conditions that could affect the healing process
- Being a nonsmoker
The Breast Reconstruction Procedure
At Dr. Andrews Plastic Surgery, we offer different types of breast reconstruction surgery: tissue expander reconstruction and autologous or tissue flap reconstruction. Dr. Andrews will determine which one is right for you.
Tissue Expander Reconstruction
Tissue expander reconstruction involves Dr. Andrews using implants to create your new breasts, but the implants require a certain amount of breast tissue and space to ensure a safe and effective procedure. In order to create enough space for an implant, Dr. Andrews will place an expander implant into the breast area below the skin and muscle.
At your follow-up appointments, Dr. Andrews or one of our nurses will inject implant filler solution through a valve in the expander implant. Once it’s filled, another surgical procedure will be done to replace the expander with a permanent implant. Typically, we use a tear-drop shape or gummy-bear silicone implant.
Autologous Reconstruction
During autologous reconstruction, your own body tissues are used to replace the volume you’ve lost in your breasts. Fat and muscle from another part of your body will be moved to your breast area. These donor sites are typically the hips, abdomen, or thighs.
While this procedure will include only one surgery, it can be difficult to know how much of your own tissue the body will absorb and what your final results will look like.
A second surgery may need to be done to reshape the breasts and to ensure they are symmetrical. That said, these results tend to look and feel more natural.
Recovery
After surgery, Dr. Andrews will give you instructions on how best to take care of your incisions and what to avoid to ensure proper healing.
Since anesthesia will be used, once you wake up after surgery, you will need someone to drive you home. You will be given a support bra to wear to help with healing as well as prescription pain medication to help with any discomfort you feel.
You will experience some swelling and bruising. It typically takes about eight weeks for those side effects to fully diminish. At this 8-week point, you will see most of the results. It can take up to a year or more for the incisions to fully heal and for the scars to fade.
Dr. Andrews will let you know when you can return to work, exercise, and your normal activities.
DR. KAHLIL ANDREWS
Dr. Kahlil Andrews is a board-certified plastic surgeon from Los Angeles specializing in plastic, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
At his location in Coralville, Iowa, Dr. Andrews’ academic and technical achievements are only exceeded by his commitment to patient care. Whether they are seeking reconstructive breast surgery, outpatient injectable treatment, or a full-blown mommy makeover, Dr. Andrews gives his full attention and focus on achieving excellent patient outcomes.
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Schedule A Consultation
Are you struggling with not feeling like yourself after a single or double mastectomy? Dr. Andrews and his team can help you regain your confidence and your sense of self with breast reconstruction surgery. Dr. Andrews will listen to your concerns, answer your questions, and build a customized treatment plan for you.
To schedule a consultation today, call our Coralville, IA office at 319.800.6877 or use our online scheduling form.
