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Can this procedure still be done if I’ve had prior reconstructions that failed?

I had breast cancer 9 years ago 34 years of age. I had a lumpectomy & radiation. In 2009, it returned in one lymph node. I have completed chemo, but reconstruction attempts with an implant have failed. I have a tissue expander in again - very thin, radiated skin. I feel mutilated. Your new procedure sounds like it could be a last hope for me. I just had the implant removed & expander put back in. Can you help me?

Answer

While our procedure should be a first choice alternative, unfortunately for many patients we are the last resort after all else has failed. They learned about fat grafting too late and wished they had it done from the start. It is truly unfortunate that our technique, although proven safe and effective, is still not available everywhere. Plastic surgeons offer their patients the technique they are most familiar with. And total breast reconstruction with fat grafting is not something most plastic surgeons have mastered yet. The majority of patients at the Miami Breast Center come to us because other methods have failed. We have extensive experience with this unfortunate situation and we have refined the techniques to salvage these reconstructions. We will not use foreign objects, only your own autologous fat, which the body will not reject. We will do a little at a time, as much as your body will allow, and build upon that. If you were reconstructed with implants, each grafting session will consist of replacing your implants with new ones half their size while we take advantage of the resultant tissue laxity to double the thickness of your tissue. Therefore, our goal at each of the procedures is to half the amount of silicone while doubling the amount of your own tissues around the implant. This might slightly reduce your implant breast size but will give you softer, warmer, bouncier and more natural breasts. We proceed with successive procedures 3 months apart till you end up with new breasts that are all fat and no silicone. If along the way, if you do not mind a small implant deeply hidden under lots of fat, we stop the reconstruction. If, on the other hand you want to be even larger, we proceed with still another grafting session.

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