Brava Bra

poemlady

I am considering having Dr. Khouri reconstruct my radiated breast using the Brava Bra and fat grafting.  Does anyone have any personal experience with Dr. Khouri and this method of reconstuction following a mastectomy and radiation? 

otter

poemlady, I'm curious -- why are you wondering about that?  I see you've asked exactly the same question, word-for-word, in 3 of the forums here; but you haven't provided any context for the question.

Are you considering having this procedure done on yourself?  (Dare I ask who "Dr. Khouri" is, and where he or she is located?)

otter

jessicav

ask Whipptemom. She has heard about it.

Erica3681

There is a long thread on the Breast Reconstruction forum that deals with this issue and Dr. Khouri's technique. Its title is "Has anyone had micro fat grafting?" If you read through the whole (long) thread, you'll hear from a number of women who have considered the technique or who have actually gone ahead and done it. I was curious to learn about it and I actually met with Dr. Khouri (I've posted my impressions on the thread).

I had already looked into and decided against conventional methods of reconstruction but wondered about the ability to create new breasts using fat lipo-suctioned from my own body. After meeting with Dr. Khouri, I concluded that the technique wasn't for me -- too many unknowns, including the risk of the Brava bra causing the growth of more breast tissue (from the small amount that always remains after a mastectomy), the risk of developing cysts in the transferred fat, and the need for mammograms in the future (I don't EVER want to have one of those again). Plus, even though it's advertised as a non-invasive type of reconstruction, lipo-suction is done under anesthesia and carries its own risks. One thing that did intrigue me was Dr. Khouri's claim that as the injected fat develops its own blood supply, radiated tissue is actually repaired.

I think this kind of reconstruction technique may be the wave of the future, but I don't think it's been sufficiently refined yet. In the months since I looked into it, I've become even more sure that I made the right choice for me in not having reconstruction.

Barbara

BreastFree.org