Dr. Amy Bandy Breast Reconstruction Procedure Before and After
Dr. Amy T. Bandy is a breast reconstruction plastic surgeon. Dr. Amy Bandy says that “breast reconstruction can be anywhere from correcting a previously malpositioned breast implant or bad breast augmentation to somebody who was born with a asymmetric breasts or reconstruction for cancer reasons.”
“There are quite a gambit of breast reconstruction,” says Dr. Amy Bandy. Dr. Amy Bandy states that “when the breasts are being re-operated on because of previous breast surgery, it’s a much more detailed and lengthy breast surgery than for the primary surgery of placing breast implants.” Further, Dr. Amy Bandy says “the breasts really need to be evaluated to see what the complaint or problem is to determine what exactly needs to be done. Often times when a patient has a breast implant that is no longer sitting properly in the pocket, the entire pocket needs to be reconstructed and the implant needs to be removed and the pocket needs to be reshaped by changing the pocket by either making the pocket that was once in front of the muscle into a post pectoral or behind the muscle position or vice versa where it was behind the muscle and make it into a pre pectoral position or if it’s something where the implant has been what we call lateralized or it’s falling off to the side too much often times what can be done is what’s called a capsuloraphy.” Next, Dr. Amy Bandy says “here the capsule or the scar tissue around the implant is made smaller and the pocket is closed on the sides so that it brings the implant more medial toward the sternum. Same thing when the implant is sitting too low, it can be brought higher be elevating the capsule on the lower part of the pocket.”
Dr. Amy Bandy explains that “additionally, if the patient has had previous breast surgery and the breasts are uneven, either the shape or the size sometimes the type of implant, either the diameter or profile of the implant needs to be changed and the volume needs to be brought more symmetric so that the shape and volume of each breast is more similar.”
Moreover, Dr. Amy Bandy discusses that “breast reconstruction post mastectomy after having had surgery for breast cancer: there are a multitude of options. The patient can choose to have immediate reconstruction when she is having her mastectomy where the plastic surgeon is available in the operating room at the same time the general surgeon is removing the breast tissue and at this time typically a tissue expander is placed to maintain the proper pocket for the placement for a future implant or it can be immediate reconstruction of what’s called a TRAM or litisimas dorciflap where a tissue is taken from patient’s own tissue.”
Further, Dr. Amy Bandy says that “a litisimas dorci is where tissue is taken from the back and rotated around to the front. Typically this is done with an implant, and because the back tissue is not as fatty and does not have enough volume to create a very large breast mound or what’s called a TRAM (Transverse Rectus Abdominus Myocutaneous-Flap) and with this surgery the patient gets a built in tummy tuck because the tissue is taken from the lower abdomen and moved into the defect created by the mastectomy on the chest wall and formed into a breast mound.”
“This can be done on either what is called a petecol where the tissue is maintained on its natural blood supply and just rotated into the defect or it can be into what’s called a free flap meaning that the tissue is cut free from the patient and then the vein and artery is sewn into place microscopically in the axilla or under the arm,” says Dr. Amy Bandy.
Lastly, Dr. Amy Bandy describes that there are other types of breast reconstruction but these are the most common and typically a beautiful breast can be created in place of the breast that was removed after breast surgery.
“Other forms of breast reconstruction in males can have what’s called a gynecomastia or a female type shaped breast where they have excess breast tissue and if it is actual tissue, the tissue is removed surgically through a small incision (a half moon shape around the areola) and through that incision, the breast tissue is surgically excised and removed. This is always sent to pathology because there is a low but real risk of breast cancer even in men,” says Dr. Amy T. Bandy. ”If the patient is an overweight male, often times it’s not a true gynecomastia, it’s actually fatty tissue, and this can be addressed through liposuction or liposculpture,” says Dr. Amy Bandy.