Delaying Breast Reconstuction for Radiation Therapy?

Charmd: Radiation therapy is done for control of "local" disease. The goal is to decrease the chance of recurrence in the area of the old breast tissue. If your oncologists recommend this, we want you to have the best care. Radiation therapy does negatively effect the breast reconstruction, regardless of the methods used. It causes more scaring and contraction of the remaining skin and subcutaneous fat. It reduces blood vessel growth and healing. If all other considerations... more

Radiation for breast cancer treatment changes and complicates reconstruction because of the reaction and scarring it can cause and the increased complications with implants or flaps. However, philosophies are not uniform and some surgeons advocate immediate reconstruction even in the face of radiation. Flap reconstruction certainly is tolerated better than implants but placement of expanders or implants, despite potential complications, may allow preservation of valuable soft tissue that... more

Radiation can cause damage to the surrounding tissue and make an impalnt very hard. That is why it is best to delay the reconstruction.

The best answer to this question is to delay the reconstruction. There are some surgeons that will tell you that you can use your own tissue for immediate reconstruction then proceed with radiation treatments and that is not wrong but the quality of the reconstruction is affected just like with implant reconstruction. Radiation therapy is great in the treatment of cancer but it also affects normal tissue therefore if you have an immediate reconstruction using your own tissue the radiation... more