Breast Reconstruction - How long do i have to wait after chemotherapy before reconstructive surgery?
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How long do I need to wait after chemotherapy before reconstructive surgery?
As far as breast reconstruction is concerned, the timing of breast reconstruction is often
dictated by the pathology of the breast cancer. Quite often you can have breast cancer pathologies
wherein it is safe enough to carry out the reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy.
However, you will have situations where it's quite likely that the patient will need chemotherapy
or radiotherapy after the primary mastectomy. Chemotherapy, per se, does not significantly
affect or interfere with the reconstructive process. So if it is going to be just chemotherapy,
then it is quite likely that it can be done as an immediate reconstruction. However, it
is radiotherapy which is the bigger issue, as far as the timing of reconstruction is
concerned. It has been shown that it's not a good idea to go ahead with reconstruction
if the patient is likely to have radiotherapy after surgery, because the radiotherapy, per
se, does affect the reconstructed breast and can cause significant loss of tissue of the
reconstructed breast. So it is radiotherapy that really dictates the timing, and if the
patient is going to have radiotherapy, then it is best to delay reconstruction with the
DIEP flap with for up to, on an average, six to eight months or sometimes up to a year
after they finish the radiotherapy. How long do I need to wait after chemotherapy before
reconstructive surgery Robin Normal.dot Robin Microsoft Office Word How long do I need to
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