1. You Don't Have to be Radical
Until the 1970s, most women diagnosed with breast cancer had a radical mastectomy. This surgery removes not only the breast, but also the chest wall muscles under the breast and all of the lymph nodes under the arm. Researchers now know that a radical mastectomy is rarely necessary, and it increases complications for the patient, like swelling of the arm. A simple or modified radical mastectomy leaves some of most of the lymph nodes and chest-wall muscles intact.
2. Preventing the Number One Cancer
Preventive mastectomy is increasingly in the news as a controversial way to prevent breast cancer, the most common cancer in women. Doctors won't perform this surgery on any woman concerned about developing breast cancer; the woman must be at high risk of getting the disease. For example, if a woman has had breast cancer in the past, has an extensive family history of the disease or has tested positive for the breast cancer gene, she can talk to the doctor about surgery. Preventive mastectomy reduces breast cancer by about 90 percent, as no surgery can completely remove all traces of breast tissue.
3. Spare Nothing
Skin-sparing or subcutaneous mastectomy is a procedure in which the surgeon removes the breast tissue without removing the breast skin and nipple. This procedure is more common when a doctor performs a mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. Whether for prevention or treatment, most surgeons now believe the skin-sparing mastectomy is an inadequate choice, due to the risk of leaving behind residual cancer cells too small to detect in the skin and nipple.
4. You're Entitled to Reconstruction
In 1998, the Department of Labor ensured that women interested in breast reconstruction could receive this rehabilitation through their healthcare insurer. Through the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act, all private health-insurance providers that pay for mastectomy must also cover breast reconstruction. If you decide not to choose reconstructive surgery, the law also includes breast prostheses, so you can still achieve a symmetrical appearance.
5. Appearance After Mastectomy
Mastectomy patients can choose from multiple plastic-surgery options to restore feelings of wholeness and extend their wardrobe choices. The latissimus-flap technique removes skin and tissue from the middle of the back to rebuild the breast. In the TRAM flap, women get a tummy tuck with the reconstruction, as the doctors remove skin and muscle from the abdomen to create a new breast. Mastectomy patients can also choose from silicone or saline implants, with or without the use of a tissue expander to make room for the implant.
