Breast Reconstruction for Tampa, Trinity, Palm Harbor, Spring Hill, Lutz, Tarpon Springs, Odessa, FL & Neighboring Communities

More than 254,000 American women face breast cancer every year, and some have to face the difficult decision of undergoing a single or double mastectomy. Removing one or both of your breasts to overcome breast cancer can be a monumental and life-altering decision, but our staff at the Bayside Center for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery near Tampa wants you to know that we can help. Today there are impressive breast reconstruction procedures that our plastic surgeon, Dr. John Roach, can perform on mastectomy patients to not only rebuild your breasts, but to also help you feel more like your former, confident self.

Breast reconstruction surgery can help rebuild the breast to the same shape and size it was before. Most women who have had a mastectomy are eligible for breast reconstruction, and many women do choose to have the procedure. Whether to permanently regain the shape of your former breasts, or to stop using a prosthesis in your bra, the reasons are endless and always personal. 

There are two types of post mastectomy breast reconstruction procedures for you to choose from:

• Implant procedures—these involve either saline-filled implants, or silicone gel-filled implants.

• One-stage immediate breast reconstruction is often performed at the same time as your mastectomy. Once a general surgeon removes your breast tissue, your plastic surgeon will place a breast implant where the breast tissue was to form the new breast.

• Two-stage breast reconstruction or two-stage delayed reconstruction is done if your skin and chest wall tissues are flat and tight. Your surgeon will implant a tissue expander similar to a balloon under your skin and chest muscle. A salt-water solution is injected through a tiny valve under the skin to slowly fill the expander over a period of four to six months. Once the skin around the breast area has expanded enough, your surgeon will remove the expander and insert an implant.

• Tissue flap procedures—tissue from your lower abdominal area, buttocks, thighs, or back is used to rebuild your breasts. The two most common tissue surgeries for breast reconstruction involve using tissue from the lower abdominal area, or tissue from the upper back.

• TRAM flap—the skin, fat, blood vessels, and at least one abdominal muscle is taken from the abdominal area of the patient and used to form a breast. Often, a tummy tuck is performed in conjunction with this surgery since the removal of the skin and fat leads to the tightening of the lower belly.

• Latissimus dorsi flap—skin from the upper back is used in this breast cancer reconstruction surgery. The flap that is used for the procedure features skin, muscle, fat, and blood vessels. Unlike the TRAM flap which often doesn’t need an implant, the skin taken from the back is used more as a pocket for an implant to provide the restructured breast more volume.

• Gluteal free flap—tissue from the buttocks is used for this post mastectomy breast reconstruction. This provides women an alternative to the TRAM flap operation if they don’t want tissue removed from their abdominal area.

There are few procedures Dr. Roach finds more fulfilling than breast reconstruction surgery. His patients leave feeling renewed and have a greater sense of confidence, and nothing could be more rewarding for our staff. You can count on Dr. Roach, who had seven years of intensive training in plastic and reconstructive surgery, to provide you with natural looking results.

Contact us at 727-378-5808 for more information about the breast reconstruction surgeries we offer. We are here to help, whether you’re in Tampa, Trinity, Palm Harbor, Spring Hill, Wesley Chapel, Florida, or beyond.