subject: Can Liposuction Help Make Breast Reconstructions Go Better? [print this page] Breast cancer can drastically affect a woman's life and her self-image, especially if the surgery requires a mastectomy or a lumpectomy. These surgeries affect and alter the breasts, and for many women, the breasts are some of the most quintessentially feminine parts of their body. After their surgeries, some women have a hard time getting used to their new appearances. Some of these women feel like a part of them is missing, and some of them have difficulties feeling attractive or feminine again.
Even some women who opt to undergo reconstructive surgery find that this does not solve all of their problems. Although getting a reconstructive surgery can rebuild a breast, it cannot make it exactly like it was before. After a mastectomy and a reconstruction, a woman's breasts will not appear exactly as they did.
In addition to an altered appearance, many women also find that they have a hard time getting used to having a foreign body like a silicone breast implant in their body. A number.
For a long time, people have looked for a way to naturally rebuild the breast using actual fat. This has not historically been very possible. Typically, attempts to transfer fat from one part of the body to the other have not proved effective. Because of the lack of adequate blood supply, bits of the fat transplanted typically die. This can lead to uneven and lumpy results, and it can lead to scarring and calcification which could interfere with future attempts at cancer detection.
New techniques in liposuction (also known as lipoplasty and suction lipectomy) may be able to help to keep the fat alive, improving the results. A number of different lipoplasty techniques (such as the water jet method and the custom acoustic) can help keep fat alive as it is removed from the body.
Keeping the fat intact and alive as it leaves the body is only half of the battle, though. The next (and more difficult) step involves keeping the fat able to stay alive when it is replaced in the body.
Once the fat is removed, it is run through a machine which breaks a part of it down and concentrate stem cells in it. Then, when the fat is replaced into the breasts, the stem cells can help to form new blood cells, keeping the fat alive.
Although much of this is still experimental, these procedures could prove very helpful for many women if they prove successful.
