subject: Any Concerns About Mammograms After Breast Augmentation Surgery? [print this page] Any Concerns About Mammograms After Breast Augmentation Surgery?
Mammograms are vital test to detect breast cancer. The earlier you can detect breast cancer, and the smaller the problem, the higher chance of long-term health and success. After a breast augmentation, you should still get a mammogram. It's also safe for your breast implants!
Mammograms are usually done by compressing the breast tissue, and then taking pictures of your breasts. With any type of breast implant, the compression should not cause your implants to rupture. It requires much more force than just a mammogram to rupture a saline or silicone implant, above or below the muscle, regardless of the age of the implant.
Breast augmentation may actually help the visualization of the breast tissue. Breast implants are often placed UNDER the muscle, pushing the breast tissue forward. Theoretically, this pushes more breast tissue forward, allowing the picture from the mammogram to encompass more breast tissue in the image.
Make sure to tell the technician that you have breast implants. The mammogram technician may need to use a different angle, or the "Eklund" technique, get the best breast picture possible with the mammogram machine.
Your should talk to your family doctor about when you should get a mammogram. Guidelines differ based on your personal health history, your family history of relatives who have had breast cancer, and ACS/ America Cancer Society recommendations versus the Federal Government. If you happen to live outside the USA, then your country's guidelines may differ from USA recommendations. You can rest assured that most mammogram technicians can get a great picture of your breast tissue with a mammogram.
The "Eklund" technique is a pretty obscure and geeky thing to know about, so an introductory article is here. You will have to sign up for an account to read this article.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/462442_4
Information on mammograms from the American College of Radiology is found here-
