There have been a lot of recent advancements in breast reconstruction and we are now able to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing and natural looking breast than ever before.
There have been a lot of recent advancements in breast reconstruction and we are now able to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing and natural looking breast than ever before. Some of these techniques can be applied to existing reconstructions to improve them. Often, a very satisfactory reconstruction in the early postoperative period can become suboptimal over time due to gravity, weight gain, firmness or displacement of the implant or loss of pigmentation of a tattooed nipple. This is particularly true for patients who have undergone unilateral reconstruction. The contralateral natural breast appears saggier over time in contrast to the implant reconstruction which remains quite perky. This is aggravated by any weight gain because the implant side does not increase in size like the natural contralateral side.
Surgery to improve symmetry from prior breast reconstruction is typically covered by insurance. The surgical plan has to be tailored for each individual patient to achieve the best symmetry.
Advances in surgical techniques that may help include:
- Fat Grafting using your own body fat to fill in contour defects and thicken your own natural tissue to better hide an underlying implant.
- Acellular Dermal Matrix is natural human dermis which is sewn internally in the breast implant pocket to position the breast implant. Think of it as an internal brassiere.
- Improved Breast Implants are available in all sizes and shapes to better match a contralateral natural breast. There is also a baffled saline implant that approaches the feel of silicone but uses saline (salt water).
To find out if you are a candidate for a revision procedure, please contact our office to schedule a consultation. Once your surgical plan has been decided upon, we will work with your insurance company to attain preauthorization.