Celebs and their plastic surgery

Articles tagged breast reconstruction

Options in Breast Reconstruction on ABC News

Tuesday, February 10th, 2015

 

Happy BRA Day!

Wednesday, October 16th, 2013

So what is BRA Day?  It’s short for “Breast Reconstruction Awareness” Day.  As a plastic surgeon, I find it surprising that there are a lot of women who undergo mastectomy and lumpectomy for breast cancer and are never given their various options for breast reconstruction.  So today there are events being held in 25 countries throughout the world as an attempt to bring awareness to the fact that women have options in breast cancer reconstruction.  In fact, the Federal government even passed  legislation years ago that requires health insurance companies to pay for breast reconstruction not only on the affected breast, but on the unaffected breast for purposes of symmetry.

To learn more about BRA Day, click HERE for the official website.

 

Angelina Jolie – Prophylactic Mastectomy with Reconstruction Using Breast Implants

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013

So you have probably all heard by now that Angelina Jolie was diagnosed with the BRCA1 gene and has undergone a double mastectomy with reconstruction.  The actress and director wrote a very poignant, well-written op-ed for the New York Times. Here is a segment of it:

On April 27, I finished the three months of medical procedures that the mastectomies involved. During that time I have been able to keep this private and to carry on with my work.

But I am writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience. Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.

My own process began on Feb. 2 with a procedure known as a “nipple delay,” which rules out disease in the breast ducts behind the nipple and draws extra blood flow to the area. This causes some pain and a lot of bruising, but it increases the chance of saving the nipple.

Two weeks later I had the major surgery, where the breast tissue is removed and temporary fillers are put in place. The operation can take eight hours. You wake up with drain tubes and expanders in your breasts. It does feel like a scene out of a science-fiction film. But days after surgery you can be back to a normal life.

Nine weeks later, the final surgery is completed with the reconstruction of the breasts with an implant. There have been many advances in this procedure in the last few years, and the results can be beautiful.

I choose not to keep my story private because there are many women who do not know that they might be living under the shadow of cancer. It is my hope that they, too, will be able to get gene tested, and that if they have a high risk they, too, will know that they have strong options.

Life comes with many challenges. The ones that should not scare us are the ones we can take on and take control of.

I applaud Angelina for coming forward and revealing her diagnosis and treatment.  Hopefully this helps to inform people not only about the potential diagnosis and treatment options for breast cancer, but also inform women about their reconstructive options.  Studies show that women who undergo immediate reconstruction after mastectomy benefit psychologically a great deal.

To read the rest of Angelina Jolie’s op-ed piece, click HERE.

If you’ve ever wondered how plastic surgeons reconstruct a woman’s breast after mastectomy, there is a very well-written article in CNN.com HERE.  I’m quoted in the article, which also describes how Angelina’s reconstruction was likely performed.

Photo credit: prphotos.com

 

Jewel Partners With ASPS To Raise Awareness Of Breast Cancer Reconstruction

Monday, September 17th, 2012

Two famous singers have recently publicly partnered with plastic surgery groups.  The singer Jewel has partnered with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS, of which I am a member) to raise awareness of breast reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer.  Studies show that 7 in 10 women with breast cancer are not fully informed as to their reconstructive options.  Other studies have shown that breast reconstruction can significantly improve a woman’s self-image following breast cancer surgery.

Jewel has recorded a song (Flower) for the cause, which can be downloaded on iTunes and Amazon.com.  She is also planning a benefit concert at the annual meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons in New Orleans next month.  She has been officially named as the national spokeswoman for the Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) campaign.  One month from now -October 17th- has been designated official BRA Day USA.

Click here to read more about BRA Day USA.

On the flip side, 70′s singer Debbie Boone has become the new spokesperson for the Lifestyle Lift.  As you may know, this is the mini-facelift center that has dozens of locations nationwide and several infomercials.  Bah.  I don’t think Debbie’s lighting up a whole lot of lives with her association with them.

Maybe Debbie should read RealSelf.com to learn more about this procedure.

Kudos to Jewel!  Boo to Debbie…

photo credit: prphotos.com

 

Brava And Fat Grafting: A New Technique For Breast Reconstruction

Friday, June 29th, 2012

There is an interesting article in MSNBC.com that describes a new technique for reconstructing breasts in women who’ve undergone mastectomy for breast cancer.  Brava / AFT (Autologous Fat Transfer) was recently described in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (the journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons) as a safe and effective technique for breast reconstruction.  Basically, it involves use of the Brava breast enhancing device with surgical fat grafting (taking fat from the tummy or the thighs and injecting it into the breasts).  The Brava device is, quite simply, a pair of large domed suction cups that produce a vaccuum deal to suction the breasts larger.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Roger Khouri is the lead author of the paper.  He’s reconstructed breasts on more than 200 women using Brava/AFT.  According to Dr. Khouri, “The holy grail of tissue engineering is a vascular scaffold — a capillary network. The Brava creates the scaffold by pulling on the tissue from the outside. Then liposuctioned fat fills that scaffold with cells. We’re regenerating an organ without any incision, without any foreign object, without any chemicals.”

This is an intriguing concept for breast reconstruction, but I wouldn’t advise patients to jump to this option just yet.  There are still some unanswered questions, in my opinion, that must be answered prior to wide-spread acceptance of this procedure.  Some questions include:

1. We are learning that fat is chock-full of stem cells.  Could the stem cells present in injected fat increase the risk of cancer recurrence?

2. What are any long-term mammographic changes that can occur with this treatment?  Not just one year, but several years down the line?

3. Insurances aren’t likely to pay for the Brava device, and currently only modestly pay for fat grafting to the breasts.  Will health insurance ever cover this procedure?

For more information on this intriguing new technique for breast reconstruction, read the MSNBC.com article HERE.

 

Carly Fiorina – Infection 3 Months After Breast Reconstruction

Thursday, October 28th, 2010

California Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina has been released from the hospital after being treated for an infection related to reconstruction surgery.  She had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent bilateral mastectomies with reconstruction, with the last stage being performed back in July.  What type of infection could this be, many months after her last surgery?

Hopefully the infection does not involve a breast implant, which is often used in reconstruction.  If an implant is infected, it needs to be removed, typically for six months to allow the infection to resolve.  For those six months the patient would have only one augmented (or reconstructed) breast.  This is my greatest fear when operating on smokers, who have a five times higher risk of healing complications over nonsmokers.

My best wishes go out to Ms. Fiorina.  To all my female readers over the age of 40:

Get Your Mammograms!

It is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, after all.

 

Christina Applegate Breast Cancer and Reconstruction

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

As you may know by now, Christina Applegate has undergone a double mastectomy for possible breast cancer. She has the BRCA1 gene, which is a marker for high breast cancer risk. Ms. Applegate elected to undergo a prophylactic mastectomy, essentially removing all her breast tissue in order to prevent a potentially deadly cancer from appearing. In an interview, she stated that the next eight months would be spent undergoing breast reconstruction surgery.

What reconstructive surgery may she be having? It sounds to me that she is probably going to undergo breast reconstruction using breast implants. This process can take several surgeries. Most commonly, temporary breast implant expanders are placed at the time of the mastectomy. These implants are gradually filled over several months to expand the remaining skin and muscle. When they are the desired size, then another surgery is performed where the expander implants are replaced with permanent breast implants. Usually a few months later the nipples are recreated during a third surgery. The final step is often tattooing of the nipples and areola, in order to get the darker color of the real thing.

I wish her the best in her recovery and future treatments. I thought she was great in Married with Children.

Photo credit: prphotos.com

Thanks for reading.

Michigan-based Plastic Surgeon

Anthony Youn, M.D.