What Are my Options for Filling an Indentation Left After Lumpectomy?

Breast reconstruction after lumpectomy is becoming increasing common as breast conservation in the face of breast cancer becomes more sophisticated. Many times lumpectomy defects can be very challenging to reconstruct. The first issue involves whether you have had radiation. Irradiated breasts are more common in people who have had lumpectomies and make reconstruction more complicated. Typically radiation will require the usage of "autologous" tissue (meaning your own). The... more

The most important component in the decision making is whether you have undergone or will undergo radiation therapy. Radiation may affect your current breast implant and may further compromise your candidacy to undergo reconstruction with a prosthesis (tissue expander or implant). Depending on the amount of radiation received, you may be a candidate for breast reconstruction using your own tissue. Examples of these muscle flaps include the rectus muscle and latissimus muscle. Recently, a... more

Depending on the degree of the deformity, there are several options including utilizing local tissue rearrangement with or without additional tissue which may include the use of a dermal implant such as Alloderm, replacement or revision of your implant reconstruction, and finally the use of autologous (your own body) tissue from another site such as your back or abdominal areas. A consultation with a Plastic Surgeon is the best place to start.

Lumpectomy often results in the indentation that you describe. The problem is that every lumpectomy leaves you with a unique situation! It is thus very difficult to answer your question here as there are so many individual questions that need to be asked? How big is the indentation? Where on the breast is it located? Did you have radiation to the breast? Was the implant placed before the lumpectomy or as part of a reconstruction? All of these questions influence how a repair can be... more

There are many different ways to reconstruct deformities of the breast after lumpectomy. Usually this requires one of several options: either using local tissue (i.e. the remaining breast itself) or recruiting tissue adjacent to the breast or even from a remote location( Latissimus muscle flap, ICAP flap, DIEP flap, TRAM) to improve the contour. It really depends upon how severe the defect is.