Breast cancer is a type of cancer that is seen in approximately 1 in 8 women in society and can be treated in today's conditions, especially when diagnosed early. Breast cancer treatment is one of the issues that concern many branches since the date of diagnosis. So where do we, as plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgeons, come into play in this disease? I will talk about breast reconstruction, which is the subject of my article, in detail
.
I would like to start the subject with the definition of a healthy person. WHO (World Health Organization)
defines health as follows: ''Health is not only the absence of disease and infirmity, but also a state of complete physical,
PSYCHOLOGICAL and social well-being.'' Here in large print. The reason why I emphasize the word PSYCHOLOGICAL
is that a woman whose breast is removed is not only a patient struggling with cancer
but also the psychology of a person who has lost an organ or a limb.
''You are cured of the disease. What more do you want? Primitive views like '' are often said by people who do not fully understand the psychology of breast cancer patients. However, the person experiencing the disease experiences the psychology of the lack of motherhood or femininity in the deepest way.
Apart from this, breast reconstruction surgeries are performed by private insurance companies in many parts of the world and in our country. It is covered by. This is one of the factors that show that the perception that breast reconstruction is a necessity for health rather than a luxury is beginning to be established.
So how is the breast repaired? First of all, repair is done in two ways, depending on the technique and timing used. If it is done at the same time as cancer surgery, we call it early repair; if it is done later, we call it late repair
. Early or late repair can be done with a prosthesis or with the person's own tissues.
In my article, I would like to talk about autologous breast reconstruction (performed using the person's own tissues) in a little more detail.
p>
Autologous breast reconstruction can be performed simultaneously or delayed with cancer surgery.
This depends on the stage of the disease, the person's wishes and the surgeons' preferences. Preferences are one of the determining factors.
The most commonly used areas in autologous breast reconstruction are the lower abdomen, back
region, waist area, buttock. and inner thigh area. The thick fatty tissue here (sometimes together with muscle tissue) is transferred to the area where the breast is removed.
In our geography, the place where fat accumulation is generally high in women is also the lower abdominal tissue. This thick fatty tissue removed during abdominoplasty is used to create the breast. In its first application, the tissue was transferred by opening a tunnel under the breast together with the muscle we call the rectus muscle. Nowadays, with the further development of microsurgical techniques, free tissue transfer (where the tissue is completely separated from the body and then
It is performed as a tissue transfer method in which the vessel is repaired and combined.
To briefly summarize the procedure: First of all, the excess fat and skin tissue in the abdomen is removed by removing the veins. Vessels are joined using a microsurgical method to restore circulation on the missing side. If the person's other breast is intact, intervention may be required for the other breast for symmetry. Finally, the process is terminated by making a nipple on the repaired breast under local anesthesia. He has a flat and firm abdomen. This operation, which lasts between three and six hours, has a very low complication rate in centers experienced in microsurgery techniques.
However, like every surgery, it has certain risks. Of course, whether these risks increase or decrease depends on the general condition of the patient, his/her smoking habits, whether he/she has any co-morbidities, and the technique used. In weak patients whose abdominal tissue is not suitable, the previously mentioned tissues can be transported by adhering to the same principles.
Finally, breast cancer, which is one of the diseases that modern medicine can deal with, can be treated early.
The diagnosis strengthens the hands of both the healthcare personnel and the patient. For this reason, it is very important for every woman to have routine breast screenings, even if there is no suspicion of the disease. dir.
Read: 0
