Before and after bilateral delayed implant reconstruction in a 45 year old woman. She was previously treated for breast cancer with bilateral skin sparing mastectomies but was not offered reconstruction. In her home state of Hawaii, she did not find a Plastic Surgeon who she felt could give her a natural looking breast reconstruction result.
She traveled to San Francisco for an initial consultation and to make a plan for her reconstruction. Smooth, round adjustable saline implants were planned to open up her breast skin and to allow for her to select her final implant size by adding or subtracting saline through the attached remote port after surgery.
Her surgery took two hours to complete as an outpatient procedure. She stayed in the Bay Area for 10 days total and had two implant fills during that time. She returned to Hawaii and to all her usual activities at three weeks.
Fifteen months later, she returned to our office for implant port removal and nipple-areola reconstruction. Her saline implants were permanent, and she chose to keep them as her permanent implants. She wished to avoid additional surgery and to return to her life as soon as possible. Nipples were reconstructed using the local flap technique and areolas via medical tattoo.
Follow up photos are shown 10 days after her final procedure with some bruising that is starting to resolve. There is no way that implants under the muscle could have that natural droop and teardrop breast shape! Her body image is dramatically improved – she had trouble putting into words how grateful she was. But her tears said everything.
Our office has only offered prepectoral breast implant reconstruction (also known as subcutaneous, or on top of the muscle) since 2006. She is ready to return home and will see us yearly for long term follow up.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
