Breast Cancer Reconstruction Surgery in Houston

The city of Houston is widely known for leading the way in cancer research and treatment. After receiving a breast cancer diagnosis, many women travel to Houston seeking treatment from some of the world's top doctors. Throughout cancer treatment, so much focus is given to treating and eliminating the disease and as medical research has improved over the years, many more women are surviving their breast cancer diagnosis. After they have stared cancer in the face and beaten it, most women are so exhausted they haven't even given any thought to what they will be facing afterwards. All of their previous doctor's appointments and conversations have been centered on eradicating the cancer first, and worrying about breast reconstruction after. While eliminating the cancer is of course the foremost concern, more attention needs to be given to the second stage of treatment, the healing process of reconstruction.

Many women are unfortunately not even aware that breast reconstruction procedures are covered by Medicaid and medicare programs. Women of lower economic class and education are at an even greatest risk of being misinformed regarding breast reconstruction after cancer treatment. In New York city, a law was passed recently that would make it mandatory for NY hospitals to inform breast cancer patients about their breast reconstruction options before they undergo surgery to remove the cancer. This law aims to eliminate the number of socioeconomic disadvantaged women who are uninformed about universal coverage for breast reconstruction. It has been proven that undergoing breast reconstruction after cancer treatment is an integral part of the healing process which vastly improves the quality of life for breast cancer survivors.

In earlier years, the only options many breast cancer survivors had for reconstruction included tissue expanders and the use of breast implants. Unfortunately, the results achieved using implants were often unsatisfactory due to firmness, artificial looking shape and problems with achieving symmetry. Luckily though, medical research and technology have allowed great strides to be made in the field of breast reconstruction techniques, resulting in new techniques which use the patient's own skin and fat tissue to create a softer, more natural breast. These techniques require the skilled hand of surgeon seasoned in the art of microsurgery, making the pool of plastic surgeons who can perform these procedures quite small. This is another reason why so many breast cancer patients are unaware of the availability of cutting edge procedures like the DIEP and SIEA flap. These procedures use Autologous Tissue techniques which utilize excess abdominal skin and fat removed from the lower abdomen to reconstruct the patient's new breast. Microsurgical techniques are utilized to carefully remove this tissue from the stomach and reattach the blood vessels in the patient's breast area. Not only is the cosmetic result of such procedures much more satisfactory, they are also less invasive, resulting in less pain and shorter recovery times. What's more, the patient gets the added bonus of a tummy tuck, resulting in a slimmer more contoured midsection, which is a side-effect most women are ok with. Fortunately for breast cancer patients seeking treatment in Houston, the city is also home to one of the world's top facilities that specializes exclusively in Houston breast reconstruction techniques for breast cancer survivors.