Breast Reconstruction Basics Part 1

If you have had a mastectomy, it can have a profound impact on how you feel about yourself. Many women lose breasts to cancer or other diseases, which take their own toll. By the time you feel good enough to face yourself in the mirror, it can be devastating to see the full extent of the disease’s effects on your body. At Front Range Plastic and Surgery, we are dedicated to giving you options.

In this blog, we are going to discuss the basics of breast reconstruction. This operation is always a life-changer, and with good reason. It has been aggressively developed and improved to the point that it can be implemented right after mastectomy, allowing the patient to wake up from her mastectomy with a breast mound already there.

There are two main strategies for reconstructing the breast. You can read about them in more detail on our breast reconstruction page, but here is a synopsis of the first and most common technique.

  1. Skin Expansion
    • This is exactly what it sounds like: the chest skin and muscle are slowly stretched and expanded via a balloon that is gradually filled with saline solution over several months.
    • Sometimes, the balloon becomes the implant and is left in. Other times, it is removed and a permanent implant is put in its place.
    • The nipple and areola are reconstructed in a following procedure.


At Loveland Plastic and Surgery, we are committed to making sure you get the help you need. Our experienced, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon is ready to start a compassionate conversation about how to make you smile at the mirror again. Call for an appointment today!

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