Have you decided to go flat after having a mastectomy? This blog and video discuss aesthetic questions to ask if going flat after mastectomy.
When a woman or man loses their breast to breast cancer they have choices whether to rebuild their breast or not. They can choose to go flat, or they can choose breast reconstruction. I had a mastectomy in May of 2014 and remained flat for seven months prior to having DIEP flap breast reconstruction. But there are many women and men who choose to remain flat after a mastectomy.
I had the privilege of speaking to Drs. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio about this topic. They are both plastic surgeons who perform various kinds of plastic surgery, primarily autologous based breast reconstruction. The information they explain in this video and have personally done themselves, is achieving optimal aesthetic outcomes for patients who choose to remain flat after mastectomy. As Dr. C states, “It’s important to realize what their expectations are.”
There are aesthetic considerations patients can discuss with their surgeons, whether it is your breast surgeon or plastic surgeon, to optimize the appearance of the chest area if deciding to go flat after mastectomy. The optimal result is to achieve a nice chest contour after going flat. Here is a list of question and topics a patient can ask and discuss with their surgeon.
- I am going to consider an elaborate/decorative tattoo to cover my scar after it heals. Can we discuss scar placement at the time of my mastectomy? Dr. Garza points out a typical mastectomy scar will be a longitudinal line across the chest, but body habitus is different in each patient and all of this must be taken into consideration at the time of the aesthetic discussion.
- How will the contour of my chest look after my mastectomy? I don’t want to have concave areas on my chest wall if I’m going to wear a t-shirt after going flat.
- Will there be a uniform look across my chest wall? I don’t want to have areas of extra tissue left on the sides of my chest that would potentially show when wearing clothing if I decide to go flat.
- I want to appear to look smooth and uniform across my chest area when I am unclothed if I decide to go flat.
Dr. Chrysopoulo points out he has done fat grafting on ladies who have chosen to go flat to fix contours that were not achieved during the mastectomy process. This is valuable information if you choose to remain flat and might need areas needing some aesthetic repair. Other plastic surgery procedures can be done as well to fix extra tissue left behind along the outer part of the chest.
Going flat after mastectomy should include aesthetic questions to your surgeon. This should also be the case if you choose breast reconstruction. Remember:
Breast Reconstruction after mastectomy is a choice! Going flat after mastectomy is a choice!
Thank you to Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo for this valuable video.