Jacksonville Plastic Surgery

Serving Patients in Jacksonville, Florida

BREAST RECONSTRUCTION

Serving Patients in Jacksonville, Florida

Welcome to the Desai Center of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, where we are dedicated to providing quality personalized care for all of our patients in Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra, Orange Park, and St. Augustibe. Our practice philosophy revolves around creating individualized surgical options for patients desiring breast reconstruction. Dr. Desai is a board certified plastic surgeon that specializes in all aspects of breast reconstruction. His interest in helping women extends beyond our practice, as he volunteers with a number of organizations including the Susan G. Komen foundation.

At Desai Plastic Surgery, we work closely with a number of different general surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists to provide coordinate comprehensive care for our patients. In addition, we encourage many of our patients to benefit from local organizations that provide support for breast cancer survivors. Whether you desire to have immediate reconstruction or have completed your breast cancer treatment, we will work to restore that which has been lost and to improve your quality of life.

There are four components that need to be reconstructed after a mastectomy for breast cancer.

1. Skin Envelope
2. Breast gland
3. Nipple
4. Areola

One type of breast reconstruction can restore several of the above components in one surgery, while other options need several stages to complete your breast reconstruction. Dr. Desai will discuss all of your options with you. You can find a comparison of the options below as well as learn more about each throughout our website or to learn about other procedure you can visit our main website at http://plasticsurgeryjacksonville.com

BREAST RECONSTRUCTION COMPARISON CHART

	Tissue Expansion and Breast Implant	Latissimus Flap and Breast Implant	TRAM Flap (Abdominal Tissue)	Free Tissue Transfer (Abdomen, Buttocks or Thigh)
Initial Surgery	Moderate	Involved	Highly Involved	Highly Involved
Secondary Surgery	Needed if Tissue Expander is not the final implant Needed for nipple and areola reconstruction	Possible for revisions May be needed for nipple and areola reconstruction	Possible for revisions May be needed for nipple and areola reconstruction	Possible for revisions May be needed for nipple and areola reconstruction
Hospitalization	Commonly 1-2 days	Commonly 2-3 days	Commonly 3-4 or more days	Commonly 3-4 or more days
Scars	No additional scars	Scar located on the upper back	Scar located on the abdomen	Scar located on the abdomen, buttock or thigh
Shape and Feel	No ptosis (sagging) Firm, little motion No change with weight fluctuation	Moderate to natural ptosis (sagging) Less firm, more motion Little change with weight fluctuation	Natural ptosis (sagging) Soft, Normal motion Symmetric change with weight fluctuation	Natural ptosis (sagging) Soft, Normal motion Symmetric change with weight fluctuation
Opposite Breast	Surgery often required to achieve optimal symmetry	Surgery for symmetry more optional	Surgery for symmetry almost always optional	Surgery for symmetry almost always optional
Impact of Radiation	Significant	Moderate	Varies	Varies
Secondary Gain	Flexibility with breast size in bilateral cases	None	Flatter abdomen similar to a tummy tuck	Flatter abdomen, buttock or thigh depending on donor tissue site
Average Back to Work Time	2 weeks	4 weeks	6-8 weeks	6-8 weeks