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A device that expands the skin or bone or any other tissue of the body is called a tissue expander. It can be used to expand the tissues of the breast and reconstruct it if it has been lost due to some reason. Generally a breast is removed if cancer is detected. The surgeon may remove the entire breast or may remove a major part of the breast tissue leaving some behind. It is a traumatic experience and the patient will naturally feel depressed and lose confidence in her appearance.
The breast can be reconstructed through reconstructive surgery and a competent surgeon can do it very well. Once all the tests like radiation and chemical therapy and others are over and the breast has been removed, the patient can think of going in for the reconstruction. Sometimes the doctor may advise the patient to wait and sometimes he may want to assure himself that the patient is in good health and mind before undergoing the reconstruction procedure. She has to select the best possible experienced surgeon for the surgery. He will note the entire medical history, check her thoroughly for fitness, confirm that she is a non-smoker or has given up smoking at least two months before the surgery and then go in for the breast reconstruction.
Both the patient and the surgeon should discus the procedure and the patient should remove all her doubts and learn about the possibilities, the success rate of such procedures and the risks involved before undergoing it. The plastic surgeon will advise her that the tissues of the breast have to be expanded using a tissue expander before she undergoes the procedure. This expander is inserted just in front of the chest wall, under the residual skin after the mastectomy. This implant has a port, which can be made of plastic or metal and is used to introduce the liquid, which will inflate it and make the skin grow. The tissue expander is like a fetus, which instigates the uterus to grow with all its components to make room for the growing baby.
The breast reconstruction tissue expander will do its duty over a period of a few months, at least six months. Once the tissue has expanded to the desired level, the tissue expander can be removed and a permanent implant will be put in its place. Sometimes the area of the removed breast may not have enough skin and tissue. In which case skin from the patient’s own body can be a donor and after expanding the skin in the donor area, it can be grafted on the breast area and again expanded to the necessary size. An implant can then be placed in it and the breast reconstructed. |
