{"id":3688,"date":"2015-07-29T11:01:11","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T15:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/52.229.122.34\/en\/?p=3688"},"modified":"2021-02-17T11:59:34","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T16:59:34","slug":"immediate-breast-reconstruction-after-mastectomy-is-easier-psychologically","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/uncategorized\/immediate-breast-reconstruction-after-mastectomy-is-easier-psychologically\/","title":{"rendered":"Immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy is easier psychologically"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Carolyn Nessim talked with Tina Belanger before her surgery.<\/em><\/p>\n

Two years ago, Tina Belanger tested positive for a BRCA2 gene mutation. She faced a difficult choice: a second mastectomy, or a high chance of a second round of breast cancer?<\/p>\n

She was deeply familiar with the risks. She had a family history of breast cancer and, in 1995, had a mastectomy after being diagnosed with cancer in her right breast.<\/p>\n

At The Ottawa Hospital\u2019s Women\u2019s Breast Health Centre<\/a>, she was presented with an option that was pioneered five years ago and is available at only a few Canadian clinics: a prophylactic \u2013 or preventative \u2013 mastectomy, followed immediately by breast reconstruction.<\/p>\n

After thinking through her options, she decided to have the surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to have an immediate reconstruction definitely impacted my choice,\u201d she said. \u201cI would have been more hesitant if I knew there would be more surgery for reconstruction.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the surgery, Surgical Oncologist Dr. Carolyn Nessim removed the tissue in Belanger\u2019s left breast. An hour later in the same operating room, Plastic Surgeon Dr. Kirsty Boyd reconstructed the breast with a temporary implant to establish the right shape and size. Belanger will have to undergo only one more minor operation to switch in a permanent implant.<\/p>\n

\"tina-belanger-surgery\"<\/p>\n

During Tina Belanger\u2019s surgery, Surgical Oncologist Dr. Carolyn Nessim (second from left) removed the breast tissue and Plastic Surgeon Dr. Kirsty Boyd (third from left) then immediately reconstructed the breast, all in the same operating room.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBy removing the tissue, we can lower her chance of getting breast cancer by 95 percent,\u201d said Dr. Nessim. \u201cThe immediate reconstruction means that it\u2019s easier emotionally and psychologically for our patients. They go to sleep with a breast and they wake up with a breast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly two months after surgery, Belanger agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely easier. I didn\u2019t think about the emotional impact the first time. You\u2019re so focused on getting the cancer removed,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen you\u2019re doing the surgery prophylactically, it\u2019s important to consider all of the physical and emotional things that go along with the surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The benefits extend beyond the psychological: immediate reconstruction makes the breast look more natural, and the tag-team format also has big benefits for the surgeons as they navigate the complicated surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can reconstruct a breast mound using the patient’s own skin to cover the implant without having to operate through scarring or radiated tissue,\u201d said Dr. Boyd.<\/p>\n

In the end, the procedure is aimed at making the cancer experience easier for patients, said Dr. Nessim.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about curing cancer,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to make the cancer journey about quality of life as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Carolyn Nessim talked with Tina Belanger before her surgery. Two years ago, Tina Belanger tested positive for a BRCA2 gene mutation. She faced a difficult choice: a second mastectomy, or a high chance of a second round of breast cancer? She was deeply familiar with the risks. She had a family history of breast […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":3689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}