What is breast reconstruction done with?

An implant is a medical device placed beneath chest tissue or muscle to create breast shape. A tissue expander is a temporary device that is gradually filled to stretch the surrounding area before an implant is placed. These approaches avoid taking tissue from another body area, but they require a surgical plan suited to your chest tissue and previous treatment.

A flap reconstruction uses skin, fat, and sometimes muscle from another part of the body. The tissue remains connected to its blood supply or is reconnected during surgery. The choice depends on your anatomy, healing, cancer treatment, desired result, and preferences.

Meet with the breast and reconstructive surgery teams before treatment when possible. Discuss immediate versus delayed reconstruction, scars, recovery, radiation therapy, future procedures, sensation, symmetry, and whether an implant, expander, or flap is appropriate.

Bring a list of medicines and previous operations. After surgery, follow instructions for wound care, drains, movement, lifting, and follow-up. Recovery differs between implant-based and flap procedures, so ask when normal activities can be resumed.

Call the surgical team for fever, worsening pain, spreading redness, drainage, wound separation, increasing swelling, or a sudden change in the reconstructed breast. Seek urgent help for severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting, or uncontrolled bleeding.

Ask which options fit your body and cancer treatment, whether radiation changes the recommendation, where scars would be, how many stages may be needed, and which warning signs require urgent review.