Breast Reconstruction Before & After Photos

This 55-year-old woman wanted reconstructive surgery on her breasts following her scheduled mastectomy, and decided to meet with Dr. Smith to talk about how she could plan for reconstructive surgery results that would look like her natural, pre-mastectomy breasts. After discussing her desires for her procedure and raising specific questions and concerns, they decided together that he would reconstruct her breasts using the tissue expander approach. They also spent some time discussing what steps she would need to take in her Newport Beach area breast surgery preparation.

Following her mastectomy, Dr. Smith inserted a tissue expander (a temporary saline implant) on each side in pockets he created beneath the pectoral muscles. The expander includes a tiny tube and self-sealing valve through which he gradually fills the expander with saline solution over the course of a few weeks. After it had enlarged the pocket enough, he removed the expander surgically, repositioned the tissue, and inserted silicone gel implants in each pocket. At a later date the patient also received nipple-areola reconstruction to give her breasts the natural look that she desired.

Both the tissue expander and nipple-areola surgery have given this patient very good results. In her "before" and "after" photos, her post-surgery breasts closely match her pre-mastectomy ones in size, shape, and position. Her reconstructed areolas have been positioned slightly higher than her original areolas, and this subtle change gives her breasts a more youthful look. She was very satisfied with the results of her Orange County reconstructive breast implant surgery.

Patient Age: 55
Patient Gender: Female