Women who undergo breast cancer surgery are often given an option to go for an oncoplastic breast reconstructive surgery to enhance the breasts aesthetically and maintain form post-surgery. A breast reconstructive surgery is done by taking tissues either from the back, abdomen or the thighs or filling the breasts cosmetically. There was a time when women who had to undergo surgery for breast cancer had to face body image issues after removal of the breasts. Most relied on the prosthesis to look and feel whole or complete. Breast reconstructive surgery has been a boon for many women. Here is all that you need to know about oncoplastic breast reconstructive surgery.

The least they can have are aesthetically enhanced breasts after facing the plight of suffering from breast cancer. But many women who had breast cancer live in the fear of a recurrence and one of them is having a recurrence in the breasts after the reconstructive surgery. We asked Dr Rucha Kaushik, breast cancer surgeon, P D Hinduja Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, if it is possible to face a recurrence after a breast reconstructive surgery post breast cancer; here is what she had to say:

Scenario one: If a breast reconstructive surgery was done after a lumpectomy (removal of the diseased part of the breast) preserving the healthy part of the breast and aesthetically enhancing it, there are chances of the cancer returning to the healthy or conserved part of the breast. If this happens a mastectomy or complete removal of the breast is done to get rid of the cancer and a reconstruction surgery can be planned later. Here is everything you need to know about breast cancer recurrence.

Scenario two: If a complete restoration of the breasts were done after a mastectomy there are still chances that the cancer might come back in the chest area if there were more lymph nodes present during the surgery or some of the breast tissues were still there after the reconstructive surgery. In this case, too a surgery would be done to remove the cancer from the chest area and follow it up again with a breast reconstructive surgery.

Know that breast reconstructive surgery after a cancer treatment only enhances the body image of a woman and doesn’t promise any prevention. It is a cosmetic surgery done to bring in a symmetry of breasts after a breast cancer surgery and help a woman live with a positive body image after losing the breasts to cancer. Recurrence of breast cancer happens due to various genetic factors and other markers that indicate a risk for the same. Breast reconstructive surgery has nothing to do with the recurrence or prevention of breast cancer.