New surgical techniques now offer women undergoing surgery for breast cancer the option of mastectomy and immediate reconstruction without major scarring.
The most commonly used procedure uses incisions that go from side to side across the breast and leave obvious scars. The new technique places the incision around the edge of the areola. Breast tissue is then removed, and immediate reconstruction uses autologous tissue to rebuild the breast mound and replace the nipple area.
A retrospective study of 30 patients, presented earlier this month at the annual scientific meeting of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons in Boston, showed that 40% of women who had the procedure thought the aesthetic result was excellent, 37% said it was good, and 23% said it was fair.
"The final cosmetic result is far superior to that of the normal mastectomy," said David Hidalgo, MD, chief of plastic surgery at . . . [Full Text of this Article]
