According to a recent web seminar hosted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, many women who undergo mastectomies are not properly informed of their breast reconstruction options. Though approximately 78,000 women in the U.S. undergo mastectomies each year, in 2007, only 57,100 underwent breast reconstruction as well. Though it’s true, breast reconstruction is not an option all women choose when given the opportunity, others say they merely aren’t being fully informed of their options.
Mandated by federal law since 1998, breast reconstruction after mastectomy is now covered through health insurance. And numerous reconstruction options exist making most women viable candidates. Still, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, providers in some parts of the country are doing a “poor job in informing women of their options.”
Today, numerous breast reconstruction options exist. The most popular uses silicone breast implants and tissue expanders, while other options, such as flap techniques, us the patient’s own fat, skin, and tissue to rebuild the breast for a more natural look and feel. For many women, breast reconstruction can begin immediately at the time of the mastectomy, sparing her emotional trauma by allowing her to awake with a new breast mound already in place. But according to the Ann Arbor study, many women aren’t being offered access to a plastic surgeon before their mastectomy.
In fact, Houston plastic surgeon Dr. Bob Basu says many of his patients seek him out years after their mastectomies, saying they’d never known the reconstructive options he offers were even available to them at the time of their diagnosis. Dr. Basu, who specailizes in advanced breast reconstructive techniques, says, luckily, it’s never too late to explore ones options for breast reconstruction. But ideally, those options should be at least offered to the women as early as possible, so they can consider them before their initial cancer surgeries.
