Breast Reconstruction Awareness
- Center for Breast Health Excellence
What is breast reconstruction?
Breast reconstruction is achieved through several plastic surgery techniques that attempt to restore a breast to near normal shape, appearance, and size following mastectomy.
‘The Rose Patient Navigators have a tool to better educate women diagnosed with breast cancer regarding their breast reconstruction options. In this short video, Dr. Kendall Roehl, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeon and the Board of The Rose, carefully explains how reconstruction works. “Breast reconstruction is often the silver lining in a very bad chapter of a woman’s life,” says Dr. Roehl. “There are options for almost every woman diagnosed with breast cancer and the goal of reconstructive surgery is to make a woman feel whole and feminine again.” The video is made possible through funding from The Plastic Surgery Foundation and supports the annual Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day held each year in October.
Who can have reconstruction?
Most women who are having or have had a complete or partial mastectomy (removal of all or some of the breast tissue and nipple) are candidates for breast reconstruction. If you have had or will need radiation therapy to the breast, it may influence the type of reconstruction, and when you can have it. This will be discussed in greater detail later. Some patients will need chemotherapy after their mastectomy, and this too can affect the timing of your reconstruction.
