The New Mastectomy

Find out what's being done to improve mastectomy results.

Q: I’m scheduled to have a mastectomy. Will my new breast look real?

A: Today, reconstruction can be done at the same time as mastectomy, and the trend is to keep as much of your skin as possible for the most natural look.

In the newer, skin-sparing mastectomy, doctors remove the nipple and areola, which may harbor cancer cells, and the inside tissue. They fill the remaining envelope of skin with an implant or fat and skin from your abdomen, then rebuild the nipple. In some cases, they can even spare the nipple, though research is ongoing.

There’s also good news for women who need radiation after mastectomy. While radiation raises the possibility that the tissue around the implant will harden and become distorted, new techniques have improved the results.

From Reader's Digest

 

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