Secondary Mastectomy Reconstruction

There are several occasions where patients come to our practice and they have previously undergone a mastectomy reconstruction, but would like to improve the appearance of their reconstruction. Common reasons for wanting to improve the appearance of their reconstruction is thin skin, with waviness and rippling of the implant, asymmetry of the reconstructed breast volume or position, and capsular contracture. After the mastectomy is completed, the skin is often thin. Occasionally the outline of the implant or rippling can be visible through the skin. One method to improve the soft tissue characteristics of the breast reconstruction is to replace the soft tissue with soft tissue from the abdomen (DIEP flap) or from the back (latissimus dorsi) flap reconstruction. One other method is to change the characteristics of the implant to a more cohesive implant that is less likely to ripple. Performing a pocket modification to raise the inframammary fold can help move more volume into the upper pole of the breast.