ST. LOUIS, MO--(Marketwired - June 05, 2017) - West County Plastic Surgeons, serving St. Louis and beyond, is known for its team of doctors who do not just regularly deliver reliable results to patients seeking their services, but who also continue to push forward advances in medicine and health. Most recently, on March 31, Dr. Terry Myckatyn was one of several doctors who published a paper, "Patient-Reported Outcomes of Aesthetics and Satisfaction in Immediate Breast Reconstruction After Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy With Implants and Fat Grafting."
A mastectomy is the surgical removal of one or both breasts in an effort to prevent, remove, and/or halt the spread of breast cancer. There is a range of variations available, including nipple-sparing mastectomy, which, as the name implies, leaves the patient's nipple even as breast tissue is excised. This is not an option in every case, and the decision to choose nipple-sparing mastectomy depends on the extent and stage of the breast cancer, as well as a patient's anatomy and personal preference.
Many patients choose to follow their mastectomy with breast reconstruction, for which there are also many options. The study -- performed with fellow West County Plastic Surgeons doctor Marissa Tenenbaum, MD, as well as Drs. AA Qureshi, EB Odom, and RP Parikh -- compared two types of reconstruction: direct-to-implant (known as DTI) and tissue expanded/implant (known as TE/I). These are the most common reconstructions involving implants used after nipple-sparing mastectomy surgery. Recent developments in the field have led to the introduction as fat grafting in an effort to further improve aesthetic outcomes, and this element was also included in the study.
Fat grafting involves the surgical removal of fat cells from one area of a patient's body. The cells are processed and refined, then injected elsewhere, such as the breasts, to add volume. Because a patient's own tissue is used, potential complications related to rejection of the tissue are significantly lowered.
The study followed 59 patients, 41 of whom chose DTI and 18 of whom chose TE/I for their breast reconstruction. After just more than one year, the patients were found to be comparably satisfied with their aesthetic results, though women who chose fat grafting along with the TE/I were significantly more satisfied.
The study concluded that fat grafting plays a role in improving a patient's overall satisfaction after her breast reconstruction surgery. The authors also noted that the results indicate discussions between the plastic surgeon and patient, focusing on patient expectations, "are essential to optimizing outcomes" after nipple-sparing mastectomy surgery.
For more information about West County Plastic Surgeons in St. Louis, call 314-996-8800 or reach out online via the practice's website at westcountyplasticsurgeons.wustl.edu.
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
West County Plastic Surgeons
(314) 996-8800