Having Breast Reconstruction after a Mastectomy

A mastectomy is a procedure where the breast tissue is removed in one or both of the breasts. This procedure is common in breast cancer patients where the breast tissue is infected with cancer cells. Many mastectomy patients opt to have a breast reconstruction surgery after the mastectomy to recreate the breast artificially.

A breast reconstruction after a mastectomy will be very similar to a breast augmentation procedure where a saline or silicone implant is used to recreate the appearance of breast tissue. In many cases the procedure is performed in stages where the first stage involves implanting the shell and gradually increasing the amount of filler material in the shell. This may be done over the course of several weeks or even months. Some types of shells may be left in as permanent implants while others will have to be removed once they reach the desired capacity and replaced with a more permanent implant.