Before and after bilateral breast cancer reconstruction revision in a 55-year-old breast cancer survivor. Her breast implants that were partially under the muscle felt tight and constricting. She had been told by her former surgeon to “just stop using your arms” and “doing activities that caused pain” – he might as well have told her to amputate her arms!
It is unacceptable for a woman to be told to stop doing activities of daily living such as pushing, pulling, lifting or to stop exercising her upper body – just because her implants are under the muscle. This patient’s revision involved removal of her old breast implants, replacement of the pectoralis major muscle to the chest wall, insertion of new smooth round silicone gel breast implants on top of the muscle in the “prepectoral” position, and nipple-areola tattoo.
We used to offer our breast cancer patients medical nipple-areola tattooing as part of our reconstructive services. Nowadays, local tattoo artists who specialize in three-dimensional shading are our go-to for pigmentation after breast cancer surgery or after cosmetic procedures where the color of the nipple-areola complex is asymmetrical or changed after surgery. Professional tattoo artists do a better job than Plastic Surgeons when it comes to natural looking tattoos!
Liposuction removed excess fat from her axillary rolls and bra rolls regions. This is a standard addition to all of our breast surgeries, both reconstructive and cosmetic, especially if this area has not been addressed by previous surgeries.
Follow up photos are shown 4 months after surgery. Her animation deformity is gone, she has relief of her symptoms of tightness and pain, and she finally feels able to move forward after facing breast cancer.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
