Risks of Breast Reconstruction - Health Channel

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Risks of Breast Reconstruction |

Risks of Breast Reconstruction, Health Channel

An implant reconstruction is a longer procedure, because sometimes it can take four to six hours and it’s a longer recovery time overall.

For an implant reconstruction a foreign body is obviously used, thus increasing the risk of having a scar, says Dr. Xiaoti Xu, Plastic Surgeon with West Kendall Baptist Hospital.

“The most important thing for all patients is whatever option they choose should be the one that fits best for them and for their life,” the surgeon affirms.
The specialist also says patients are not going to look exactly the same as they did before. “The treatment is to remove their cancer so they can survive,” he adds.

Transcript

Risks of Breast Reconstruction, Health Channel

And as with any surgery doctor there are benefits and risks we obviously know the benefit here what are the risks when it comes to this kind of surgery? For an implant reconstruction you’re obviously using a foreign body so if you are needing other kinds of treatment for your cancer like radiation you’re at a higher risk having complications like an infection down the road obviously having an implant also has a higher increased risk of having scar tissue and things like that in the future using our own tissue has the benefit of obviously using your own tissue so there’s no foreign body but in the future you know down the road that might be better but it’s a longer procedure because sometimes it can take four to six hours and it’s a longer recovery time overall and it’s not something that everyone goes through and I think the most important thing for all patients to recognize is that whatever option they choose should be the one that sort of fits best for them and their life and what their ideas are and there is really then the day no right option Also the fact that when patients decide whatever option is best for them they also or you have the conversation of there will be a different look a different feel for that matter. For sure thank you for bringing that up obviously they’re not going to look exactly the same as they did before our goal as plastic surgeons really to sort of help the patient get back to where they were before and sometimes we’re not always a hundred percent being able to achieve that but we do our best to sort of getting them to be a point where they’re happy and confident and be able to go out and sit go out at the end of the day and be just okay with their lives after all of this and you did bring up an interesting point about feel and what I always tell patients the most important thing during this whole treatment is that that the treatment is to really remove their cancer so that way they can survive well what a lot of times people don’t talk about is that when they remove the breast tissue to remove the nerves that give them sensation to the breasts and their nipples so that way they’ll never have sensation again one of the things that actually happens is that sometimes patients can’t feel hot and cold and we do warn patients that when they shower when they’re cooking you know they just have to be really cognizant of how cold and hot because they lose all that sensation.

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