Immediate Reconstruction

Immediate Reconstruction


Immediate reconstruction is performed in the same operative session as the Mastectomy so the patient leaves the hospital with a more natural appearance. Depending on the procedure chosen by the patient and her surgeon, office visits may be required to attain the desired breast shape. Nipple reconstruction and coloring are performed in a subsequent procedure.

Skin expansion is the most common technique for breast reconstruction, since the remaining breast tissue may not be large enough to support the desired breast size. After the mastectomy, a balloon expander is inserted beneath the skin and chest muscle. During subsequent office visits over several weeks, a salt-water solution is injected through a small valve buried under the skin, gradually filling the expander and stretching the breast. Once the skin is sufficiently stretched, a permanent implant is generally inserted in a subsequent operation and the expander removed; although some expanders are designed to be left in place as the final implant.