Surviving Breast Cancer Surgery - A Positive Look at Reconstructive Techniques and Emotional Recovery
"Could you imagine the loss of a part of your body? Now add in the loss of an important part of your sexuality - sounds almost too impossible to even think about, yet that is what thousands of women have had to contemplate when the diagnosis of breast cancer is made. Of course curing the cancer is the first priority, but if it could be done while preserving the breast or recreating a breast at the same time - wouldn't that be even better?
"That thought has driven surgeons to develop breast conserving techniques for women with small tumors and breast reconstructive techniques for women who still require mastectomies.
"...Women who require the removal of the entire breast because of the size of the tumor, fear of re-occurence, or because the patient wishes to avoid radiation therapy, often opt for an immediate breast reconstruction. This requires that the general and plastic surgeon coordinate their schedules so that the reconstruction is done at the same time that the breast is removed. 'The advantage is that the patient can wake up with a breast. The patients are definitely less depressed about having lost their breast to cancer when they have a reconstructed breast to wake up to,' says Dr. Richard Greco (a Savannah Plastic Surgeon).
"Breast reconstruction can be performed with the use of saline or silicone implants, or more commonly with tissue from another part of the woman's body. 'I prefer using the extra skin and fat of the abdomen - based on the blood supply of one of the muscles to create the reconstructed breast (TRAM Flap). A soft, natural breast is created and the women gets a tummy tuck at the same time. Our patients are in the hospital for 2-3 days after surgery and back to most activities in 2-4 weeks,' says Dr. Greco. 'The satisfaction rate among patients is extremely high.' "
Richard J. Greco, M.D. offers breast augmentation surgery in:
