If you are one of these women, The Breast Preservation Foundation wants you to know there may be a way to treat your cancer while preserving the natural appearance of the breast.
For women with breast cancer, a skin-sparing mastectomy with reconstruction offers breast cancer patients the most natural looking breast possible. Simply put, The Breast Preservation Foundation wants you to know the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer is compatible with preserving and sometimes enhancing the appearance of your breast through the use of well accepted plastic surgery principles.
First developed in the 1990s, the skin-sparing operation removes cancerous breast tissue through limited incisions around the nipple area. The surgeon leaves most of the overlying breast skin, which creates a natural skin envelope, or pocket, that can be filled with an implant or with a patient’s own tissue from another part of the body. For most cases of breast cancer, the skin-sparing mastectomy has been demonstrated to have equal effectiveness to those archaic methods which create disfiguring scars across the breast, and have shown far superior cosmetic results.
The skin-sparing mastectomy, also referred to as breast–conserving surgery, is part of an emerging field called oncoplasty, which combines the latest advances in plastic surgery with cancer surgery. Oncoplastic techniques such as the skin-sparing mastectomy cause less scarring , and serve as an effective cancer treatment. There is ample evidence in the medical literature to demonstrate that a skin-sparing mastectomy does not affect the risk of disease recurrence or the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy treatment. Breast cancer usually involves only breast tissue, not the skin covering the breast. The skin-sparing technique significantly improves the cosmetic outcome and presents the best option for reconstruction.
Based on statistical analysis, data has proven that oncoplastic techniques are underutilized internationally. Naturally, many women who’ve just been given the diagnosis of breast cancer may not be thinking beyond their immediate concern for survival, and frequently don’t think to pursue all the options.
Yet, with the increased rate of early detections and improved prognoses, all those involved should be aware that cosmetically improved techniques are compatible with the most effective treatment. Natural looking breasts can help restore a women’s sense of femininity and wholeness. Aggressive cancer treatment can be achieved even when modern aesthetic techniques and principles are applied.
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