Description
Breast reconstruction can recreate a breast mound following a mastectomy. Breast reconstruction can be performed with either implants or your body's natural tissue. A breast reconstruction specialist, Dr. Lerman has the expertise to perform a variety of breast reconstruction procedures to give you the exceptional results you deserve.
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Breast reconstruction is when we recreate a breast mound after somebody has
had a mastectomy, or a partial mastectomy, when a piece or a whole part of
the breast has been removed for breast cancer or another disease. The
majority of women in the United States who had breast reconstruction after
a mastectomy have breast implants for reconstruction. The alternative is to
use your own tissue.
These two operations are very different, but they both work very well, and
ultimately it's up to the patient to decide which one is better for her. We
bring the patient in, and we go over their medical history, and we go over
the reasons why they are having breast surgery. We try to determine what
the best option for them is in terms of breast reconstruction. It usually
consists of about an hour consultation here in the office where we talk
about their options. I usually show pictures of what they can expect from
different types of breast reconstruction.
The pictures usually tell a large part of the story, and really clarify
what is available to them, and what they can expect. Most people when they
are first faced with this, don't really understand that we can really
recreate a breast mound and make you look good, at least as good as you did
before surgery. In my practice, my goal is to make you look even better
after surgery. In the United States, one in eight women get diagnosed with
breast cancer over the course of their life. Unfortunately, only 20 percent
of women have breast reconstruction. In my practice, that is more like 90
to 100 percent.
The reason is usually because the woman hasn't been told about their option
for breast reconstruction, or they haven't found a plastic surgeon that can
do breast reconstruction at the time of their mastectomy. The healing time
for breast reconstruction really depends on what type of breast
reconstruction they're going to have. In general, it's about three to six
weeks of time that they need off from work. By that time, most people can
go back to work and do their routine activities, but they're still going to
be healing, but they go through at least three months until they feel
completely normal.
