Reconstruction can soften the harshness of mastectomy, restore your shape, and enhance your feeling of physical wholeness.

Reconstruction with breast implants

Using saline or silicone gel breast implants is the simplest method of breast reconstruction, and compared to reconstruction with your own tissue, it’s less invasive, leaves fewer scars, and doesn’t require advanced surgical skills. Recovery is also faster, although in most cases, the overall reconstruction process takes longer to complete.

  • Implants can be placed over or under the chest muscle.

  • Most breast reconstruction with implants begins with a temporary, inflatable tissue expander that slowly stretches the breast skin and muscle over time, creating a pocket large enough to hold a more permanent implant.

  • Direct-to-implant reconstruction is a "one-step" procedure that doesn't require expansion. Immediately after a nipple-sparing mastectomy, a full-sized implant is placed under the breast skin or chest muscle. No additional surgery is needed unless complications occur.

  • Although newer silicone gel implants may last 15-20 years, they need to be replaced eventually (sooner rather than later if problems occur).

  • Implants may rupture, wrinkle, contract, or have other inherent issues that may require imaging or re-operation.

If you're considering breast reconstruction after your mastectomy, is your priority to have the shortest reconstructive procedure with the quickest recovery or the most natural breasts possible? Does keeping your own nipples appeal to you? Do you have excess fat in your tummy, hips, thighs, back, or derriere that you’d like to be rid
of in the process?

Today, breast reconstruction offers more choice than ever before, so you may have many questions about the process and its outcome. How will your new breasts look and feel? How will they differ from your natural breasts? Can your new breasts be bigger, smaller, or the same size as your natural breasts? How long will surgery take and what should you expect from recovery? Which procedure would be best for you?
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The goal of reconstruction is not only to restore breast shape and volume, but to also create soft breasts with gently-sloped contours that look natural when you're clothed and when you're not. This is what good reconstruction does, although some results are better than others, depending on your surgeon, your physical makeup,
and the procedure you choose.

No breast reconstruction is one-size-fits-all

After mastectomy, missing breast tissue can be replaced with breast implants, your own tissue, or a combination of both. Each procedure has advantages and disadvantages.

Reconstruction is customized to accommodate your chest structure and the quality of your breast skin and tissue. It can soften the harshness of mastectomy, restore your shape, and enhance your feeling of physical wholeness.

Reconstruction with your own tissue

Autologous (flap) reconstruction can also be used to create breasts after mastectomy. These procedures form full-sized breasts during the initial operation.

  • A "flap" of skin, fat, and sometimes muscle is relocated with its blood supply from the donor site to the chest, and shaped into a breast.

  • Traditional autologous procedures sacrifice muscle. State-of-the-art muscle-sparing procedures preserve muscle, using only fat and skin; these require advanced surgical skills.

  • A breast created from your own tissue feels more natural than one created with an implant.

Select a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes
in the reconstructive procedure you want.

 Most reconstruction procedures involve three steps:*

  • The initial surgery forms the breast mound (a breast without a nipple).**

  • Later revision surgery adds the nipple (optional), improves symmetry, and refines appearance.

  • Optional tattooing of the nipple and areola completes the reconstruction. (Not required after nipple-sparing mastectomy.)

 *The exception is direct-to-implant (see
"Reconstruction with Breast Implants.")

 **If you have nipple-sparing mastectomy,
your reconstructed breast will include your
natural nipple.

Reconstruction Basics: Understanding
Your Options