Before and after bilateral breast reconstruction revision in a 45-year-old breast cancer survivor. She disliked the look of her submuscular implants and suffered from chronic tightness due to constant muscle contraction over the implants.
She had bottoming out of both breast implants and resultant breast asymmetry. Her goal was to have a more natural looking and sloping upper pole and improved symmetry, along with relief of her symptoms. Her revision involved reopening the incisions under the breasts, removal of her old implants and returning her pectoralis major muscles back to the chest wall. The muscles were returned and sutured back to her ribs, reconstructing her chest wall muscular anatomy.
Her inframammary folds were reconstructed with thick sutures that hold their strength for a year and a half – once the suture finally goes away, the new pocket has formed and holds the implant in place. No mesh was placed. New smaller smooth round silicone gel breast implants were placed on top of the muscle, in the prepectoral position. Liposuction removed excess fat from her armpits.
Early follow-up photos are shown 6 weeks after surgery. The animation deformity is gone, and she has achieved her desired teardrop shape and greatly improved symmetry. Her final reconstruction step will be right nipple reconstruction using the free nipple graft/nipple-sharing technique. Medical tattoo will create a new areolar circle.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
