29 May Advances in Breast Cancer Managementꓽ Breast Reconstruction and Mastectomy in One Procedure
Globally, thousands of women are faced with breast cancer every year, as it is the most common type of cancer that women in the Western world experience. It is estimated that approximately 1 in 8-9 women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.
Καίρια θέματα που καλείται να αντιμετωπίσει μια γυναίκα με καρκίνο του μαστού, είναι η αποκατάσταση, το ογκολογικό καθώς και το αισθητικό αποτέλεσμα που θα έχει μετά από μια χειρουργική επέμβαση.
Mastectomy patients seek immediate reconstruction, maximum safety, and a perfect aesthetic result that will look as natural and uniform as possible, with minimal scarring.
The solution to this issue is provided by an innovative technique of mastectomy and immediate reconstruction in which state-of-the-art polyurethane inserts are used.
Technique
Breast Surgeon and Mastologist Ioanna Galanou also performed a double mastectomy surgery in Greece with immediate reconstruction which was done with scars of a few centimeters, not on the breast area but specifically in the inframammary fold, one centimeter below the breast area. In the surgery, the nipple and the upper areola are preserved because a rapid biopsy is always performed in this area, and in 20 minutes we know the result if it is negative for cancer cells. Only in the case of malignancy is the nipple area removed.
State-of-the-art polyurethane inserts were used over the pectoralis major muscle without the use of mesh. These inserts have the advantage compared to the rest of not breaking, eliminating the risk of creating a capsule and not changing anatomical position. This technique is applied to many women at the REGINA ELENA IFO European Oncology Center in Rome, and Dr. Ioanna Galanou also applies it.
Advantages Of The Method
The advantages of this method of mastectomy and immediate reconstruction at the same time are that it is a bloodless surgery, that there is no postoperative pain, that the patient can be discharged on the same day, that she can continue her daily life and professional obligations and soon return to sports activities. Also with this method synthetic or biological meshes are not used which could create problems in the post-operative stage such as not being accepted by the body itself or there being an increased risk of complications such as seroma, hematoma or infection.
Breast cancer can affect a woman’s sexuality, femininity, identity and personality. This method makes the experience less traumatic by stimulating the woman’s psychology without losing her self-esteem.
To Which Patients Does It Apply?
This mastectomy technique is applied to all ages in young as well as elderly patients
- with breast cancer in different quadrants of the breast (ie the breast cancer occurs in different areas in the breast itself).
- It also applies to women who have a gene mutation, the most important genes being BRCA1 and BRCA. The frequency of these genes in breast cancer is 5%-7%. These women have an increased risk of developing breast cancer (50%-85%) and ovarian cancer (15%-40%). In this case the technique is used as a prophylactic mastectomy to prevent the high probability of future occurrence of breast cancer.
- Finally, the technique can be applied to women who have small or medium breast size.
How Natural Is The Result?
Before the surgery, a pre-operative planning is done and we decide together with the patient if she wants her breast volume to increase or remain the same. Patients are very happy with the aesthetic and oncological result. The end result looks like an aesthetic plastic surgery and not a reconstruction because the scar on the breast is non-existent and the patient gets the tumor she always wanted.
From the doctor’s interview in Iciao.