Breast reconstruction that heals your body and mind
Breast reconstruction is a type of surgery for recreating the breast(s) of the patients who have undergone mastectomy (surgical removal of breasts). Since breasts are closely tied to female identity, breast reconstruction surgery can help you regain confidence and return to your old self.
Breast reconstruction surgery used to be performed exclusively at university hospitals until quite recently. Few private hospitals provided simple reconstruction procedures using breast implants. Because breast reconstruction with autologous tissue requires a wealth of experience and expertise, the number of capable surgeons is limited.
M.D. Seul Chul-hwan, of JW Plastic Surgery, built his career as a professor at Yonsei University College of Medicine and a breast surgeon specialist at Severance Hospital. He operates high standard reconstruction surgeries based on his extensive expertise.
He provides a high standard of reconstruction surgery based on his expertise and know-how
There are two types of surgery for rebuilding the breast mound: autologous tissue and implant. A few months reconstructing the breast mound, nipples can be added; the new nipples will be tattooed to match the nipple on the other side.
Tissues (skin, fat, and muscles) are collected from the lower abdomen, back, or hips, and transferred to the breasts. Autologous tissue creates breasts natural to the eyes and touch, with no palpable foreign body.
The most common breast reconstruction technique which uses autologous tissues; It reconstructs the breast while improving the sagging tissue in the lower abdomen ( transfer of abdominal skin and fat to the breasts).
The Skin, fat, and muscles of the back are transferred to the breasts; if the available tissue is too thin, breast implants may be inserted as well.
Breast reconstruction using fat grafting is generally performed on those who’ve undergone a partial mastectomy. But recently, it is more commonly being performed on the patients who’ve had a total mastectomy.
Although this surgery has a simple advantage, one operation won’t be enough. You may need 2-3 procedures for satisfactory results.
| Types of Breast Reconstruction using Breast Implants | |
|---|---|
| Single-stage reconstruction using breast implants | Multi-stage reconstruction using breast implants |
|
When the skin has been preserved and only the breast tissue has been removed, the single-stage reconstruction method using implants can be performed. |
This method is used when the skin, areola, nipple, and breast tissues are completely removed. In order to extend the skin, a tissue expander is inserted and pumped with a saline solution periodically. When the skin is properly expanded, the tissue expander is replaced with an implant. The nipples and areolas will be reconstructed later. |
Construction of Breast Mound With a Tissue Expander
When most of the breast skin has been removed, we place a tissue expander under the breast muscles injecting a saline solution periodically to extend the breast skin. This step can take up to two months.
Replacing the Tissue Expander With an Implant
2-3 months after the last saline injection, if the tissues are sufficiently extended, the tissue expander is replaced with an appropriately sized implant to shape the breast.
At this time, the other breast could be corrected (eg. breast lift surgery, etc.) to balance the size, shape, and inframammary fold of both breasts as much as possible.
Nipple reconstruction
Three months after the breast mound is reconstructed, the nipple can be added. In the past, dark skin was harvested from the other nipple or the groin; these days a simple procedure is used to generate the proper shape and create a nipple.
Areola reconstruction and tattooing
The reconstructed nipple and its surrounding area will be tattooed to match the color and shape of the other nipple.
JW surgeon for the Breast has been performing surgery with know-how from various clinical experiences, as well as dedication to achieving the best result by medical research.
