Did you know that every year more than 254,000 American women face breast cancer every year? Breast reconstruction after mastectomy is the type of cosmetic surgery I am going to be informing you on. When hear cosmetic surgery, the mind often goes straight to the thought of liposuction, a breast implants and nose jobs. Cosmetic surgery has often been thought of as only for a vain person, or someone wanting to change their visual appearance, when in reality there are many different types of cosmetic surgery that are performed for a variety of reasons.
Each year more than 254,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer .Breast cancer is often a cause of many women having to have “cosmetic surgery”. Women who suffer from breast cancer sometimes have to have one or both breasts removed to prevent the spread of cancerous cells. This is called a mastectomy. There are several different types of mastectomy’s that are performed depending on the severity of the cancer. There is a preventative mastectomy for women who have a high genetic or familiar risk may elect to have a preventative mastectomy. Breast reconstruction is often performed at the time of the mastectomy.
A partial mastectomy will be performed on women who have stage 1 and stage 2 breast cancer. The partial mastectomy only removes the part of the breast with the tumor. Another type is a Radical mastectomy which is complete removal of the breast including the nipple. Radical Mastectomy is not proven to be more effective than other less invasive forms of mastectomy’s so it is rarely performed today.
Modified Radical Mastectomy is less traumatic than a radical mastectomy and it is the most common breast cancer surgery in the United States. During a modified radical mastectomy the entire breast is removed as well as the lymph nodes from underneath the arm. Pectoral muscles are left intact. Often the skin covering the chest will be left intact as well. This procedure is followed by breast...