For all of the amazing women who are surviving breast cancer, it is important to not only be healthy and well, but to regain their femininity. Surgeons are developing and refining reconstructive techniques to provide these women with more options than they have ever had access to in the past. When a woman looses her breasts to cancer, she is left feeling incomplete, often expressing a desire to “feel whole again.” She still wants to feel beautiful and sexy, and to look normal in her clothing and swimsuits. Without breasts, she may feel that she has lost her identity as a woman.

One highly effective reconstruction method is through the use of tissue expanders, followed by permanent implants. Reconstructive surgery can either be performed immediately following the patient’s mastectomy, while she is already under general anesthesia, or at a later date. Either way, after the mastectomy is performed, Dr. Savalia will place a tissue expander in the breast, to prepare the skin for the implant. This is the initial stage of the reconstructive surgery. Then, through a series of follow-up appointments in Dr. Savalia’s office, the expander is filled weekly until the desired size is reached. An permanent implant is then used to replace the tissue expander, completing the reconstruction of the breast mound. Eventually, further surgeries may be performed to refine the look of the breast, such as nipple reconstruction. Reconstruction using implants can also be used in combination with muscle or soft tissue flaps. Dr. Savalia utilizes the patient’s own tissues with an implant to create a breast the looks and feels natural.

For all breast cancer survivors, it can be an extremely overwhelming and emotional process to choose a method of reconstruction. Dr. Savalia guides his patients through this difficult time with patience and compassion. He fully educates patients on every option available to them, assisting them in deciding what is ultimately, the best choice for their bodies. He wants them to be able to look and feel like themselves again, and he supports them through every step of their individual reconstructive process.

Elaina Hollis

Patient Coordinator