Breast implants after double lung transplant?

Faith:

I hope and pray that your double lung surgery is successful. My concern here is that you will probably be on significant immunosuppressive drugs after surgery for the lung transplant. I do not have any experience with lung transplant, but I do have a fair amount of experience with kidney, heart, pancreas and liver transplants from my general surgical residency training. All of these patients were placed on significant amounts of medication to prevent rejection and this happens by way of suppressing your bodie's ability to fight infection. This may increase your risk for infection after surgery (although it doesn't mean that his will happen) and maybe even increase your risk for the development of certain malignanices possibly including breast cancer (although Im not sure if this is true for breast cancer specifically).

I would suggest that you consult a breast surgeon to see if it is safe for you to proceed with breast augmentation surgery based upon which immunosuppressive drugs you will be placed on and your family history for breast cancer if any, and discuss your immunosupressive regimen with your plastic surgeon and thoracic surgeon/pulmonologists to see just what extra risks there may be to determine if it is worth proceeding.

 

I wish you the very best for your transplant.

 Dear Faith,

Thank you for the question.  I am sure that it has not been easy living with cystic fibrosis;  hopefully, you will be able to  proceed with the lung transplant surgery in the near future.

There is  no specific amount of time necessary to wait before undergoing breast augmentation surgery once you have undergone the double lung transplant. If I were you, I would exercise patience and be in no hurry to proceed with the breast surgery. Make sure you consider all the potential risks/complications associated with breast surgery;  for example, if immunosuppression is part of your post operative regimen ( after lung transplant),  you may be at higher risk for infection compared to the patient who is not immunosuppressed.

 After your lung transplant, your surgeon and pulmonologist will be your best resource when it comes to  determining whether or not it is safe to proceed with elective breast surgery.  If so, they will be communicating with your plastic surgeon  and anesthesiologist in regards to the optimal timing, specific precautions to take,  and management of medications that you will likely be using.

 Best wishes for a successful lung transplant.  Hopefully this will happen for you soon!