The breast is regarded as one of the most important parts of a woman’s body. For some, it’s a universal indicator of their womanhood, femininity and sexuality. Having a more prominent and proportioned breasts only increases a woman’s confidence and makes her feel beautiful. However, women are at risk of getting breast cancer due to several factors.
In a study, about 27.2 thousand new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the Philippines in 2020 alone. It is an uphill battle for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer. This number is believed to grow for the coming years, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
There are several factors that contribute to the manifestation of breast cancer in women, including age, family history, and unhealthy lifestyle. But, medical experts detect that the sudden abnormality of female hormones in a woman’s body is one of the primary causes of it. These hormones influence the growth of the mammary gland increasing the chance of having breast cancer.
Having breast cancer is not a death sentence because this disease can be cured by undergoing modern breast cancer treatments such as mastectomy. Mastectomy is a surgery that removes breast tissue to prevent the spreading of cancer. Women who have a mastectomy will notice a significant change in their appearance. This physical change may have a huge impact on their emotions and confidence, as they appear to have lost a part of their ‘womanhood’.
The advancement and innovation in the medical industry now allow them to redeem back their breast profile to its natural look. This is all possible through breast reconstruction surgery. Here are the 5 fascinating things you need to learn about breast reconstruction:
What Is Breast Reconstruction Surgery?
Although mastectomy has gained successful operations and saved the lives of many breast cancer patients, other women feel unhappy with the look of their chest after the operation because there would be cases that they’ve lost all of their breast tissue making their chest looks flat. They deem it necessary to somehow regain their breasts’ natural look for them to bring back the confidence they’ve lost.
The advancement in medical procedures paved the way for them to finally have an option to regain their breasts’ natural look and feel. In the Philippines, breast reconstruction helps in doing so by rebuilding the shape of the breast, usually, through the use of implants.
Breast Reconstruction Using Motiva® Breast Implants
Breast reconstruction not only enhances a woman’s breast profile. It can greatly help them replace the volume of breast tissue. Breast implants add more volume to the chest enhancing its shape, size, and projection. In a way, it can make the patient’s body look more proportioned.
There are now different brands and types of breast implants that are currently available in the Philippines. Each and one of them has its pros and cons. For example, Saline implants are cost-friendly but these types of breast implants contain saline solutions, which have a huge tendency to cause ripples and feel uncomfortable in the long run. In the case of silicone breast implants, they contain advanced silicone gel, giving the patient a more comfortable sensation, with less rippling.
Motiva Implants® is a brand of silicone breast implant that is gaining positive reviews from patients because of its safety innovations. Motiva Ergonomix® is the 6th-generation breast implant that can provide a softer feel and mimics the natural movement of the breasts.
Motiva Ergonomix® has many patient-centric features. One of them is the BluSeal®, a protective barrier layer. Its bluish color guarantees the surgeon that the implant is 100% intact, meaning it doesn’t have any defects like gel, bleed, ruptures, or punctures.
Some patients are worried that breast reconstruction leads to more scarring. But by using Motiva Ergonomix®, their surgeon can create a smaller incision that ranges from 2.5 cm to 3 cm, which is smaller compared to traditional incision size that requires at least 5 cm. This is all possible because of another Motiva Ergonomix®’s innovative feature called the TrueMonobloc®. It is a shell configuration made to be tear resistant and be stretched from its original shape without causing any damage to the implant.
Furthermore, it uses the ProgressiveGel Ultima®, a unique gel that mimics the natural movements of a healthy breast. It is responsible for the shape of the implant, resembling the smooth mobility of breast tissue. It creates a round profile when the patient is lying down while it instantly transforms into a teardrop shape when the patient is in a standing position.
Aside from aesthetics, one of the major concerns of women who want to have breast reconstruction is safety. To mitigate the inflammation and fibrotic response of the patient’s body, Motiva®’s SmoothSilk®/SilkSurface® has a uniform surface and is designed to enhance biocompatibility, lowering the risk of infection, biofilm formation, and other breast implant complications.
Lastly, some patients tend to misplace their implant card and important documents. It is why Motiva® came up with RFID-enabled implants called Qid®. Its unique security technology allows providers to use an external wearable reader to identify Motiva implant details post-surgery, even if a printed implant identification card is not available.
What Are the Risks and Benefits of Breast Reconstruction?
Breast reconstruction, like every operation, comes with its innate risks and benefits. It is vital that the patient is completely aware and acknowledges all of these before having a breast reconstruction.
A patient may consult or ask her surgeon regarding all of the details she must know about her breast reconstruction surgery.
Here are the following risks of breast reconstruction:
- Implant rupture or leaking
- Capsular contracture
- Breast discomfort
- Infection
- Change of sensation in the nipple and breast
Meanwhile, here are the following benefits a patient can get after the breast reconstruction:
- Restores a woman’s body’s equilibrium and proportion
- Restores a woman’s self-esteem and confidence
- Increases the patient’s breast size and projection
- Restore breast volume lost
- A fuller and visible cleavage
When Is the Best Time to Undergo Breast Reconstruction Surgery?
Many women struggle to decide when they would want to have breast reconstruction since it is not an easy decision due to factors such as their mental preparedness, financing for the operation, and the approval of their surgeon. Despite these challenges, they have three choices when it comes to breast reconstruction timing namely immediate reconstruction, delayed reconstruction, and delayed-immediate reconstruction.
The immediate reconstruction is done directly after the mastectomy. One of its benefits is that it produces immediate results. It does not give women a period where they may experience dysphoria with their body. With that said, a surgeon’s approval is needed before one can proceed undergoing immediate breast reconstruction.
On the other hand, delayed reconstruction is an option for women who had a mastectomy and would need further cancer treatment. It is normally recommended by the surgeon 6-12 months after the mastectomy. It’s done if the patient needs ample time to recover from the treatment and must undergo further breast cancer tests just to make sure that their body would be able to handle additional reconstructive operation and there is no longer any trace of breast cancer.
Finally, delayed-immediate reconstruction allows the patient to receive a skin-preserving delayed reconstruction if only the patient must need to undergo radiation therapy. If not, a patient may have the benefit of skin-sparing mastectomy with aesthetic outcomes which is like immediate reconstruction.
Nipple Reconstruction Is Another Procedure
There are cases that the nipples of the breast may have been infected by the breast cancer tumor and the only option is to have it removed. Breast reconstruction in the Philippines does not automatically come with nipple reconstruction. However there are several approaches that a surgeon can employ for reconstructing the patient’s nipple. However, this would depend on the patient’s case and the patient’s preference for its outlook.
Skin Flap
A traditional way of reconstructing the nipple is through the skin flap method. The surgeon would simply cut and fold the skin, and may use additional skin fat or synthetic filler to make its appearance more prominent.
Nipple Tattoo
There are cases in which other women wanted to avoid another surgery and would tend to resort to a modern approach of nipple tattooing. It involves a complex 3D tattooing on the patient’s breast. Its appearance would be similar to how a natural nipple and areola would look like.
Conclusion
Breast reconstruction can help in improving the confidence and quality of life of women who have had a mastectomy or lumpectomy. They now have the opportunity to restore the natural look of their breasts with innovative breast implants such as Motiva Implants®. Another benefit of breast reconstruction would be bringing a well-proportioned physical outlook that can boost their confidence as they maintain a more feminine figure.
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