Ask plastic surgeon Scott Sullivan, M.D., your recon questions!

I am meeting with surgeon this week on what to pick and I am very clueless I want more information on do not know name the one you do when doctor takes fat from other parts of body and insert into new breast pocket I need to know What are odds with this one ," Is it the best one to use if not what are some other ones please let me know thanks

I am all finished with reconstruction. I'm handling the constant muscle contractions pretty well, but I had Goetex nipples and tattoos done. The tattoos are fading badly and differently. I want new tattoos.

My plastic surgeon says I cannot have them. Not enough blood flow For healing. Any thoughts?

Does one just have to " live with" rippling after reconstruction with silicone implants or are there steps that can be taken to improve or get rid of it?

I have the teardrop and have rippling- most noticeably on the cancer-side (thinner, less residual tissue). I hate it and am seeking 2nd opinion formy options. I've heard fat grafting can be so 50/50. I'm not sure it's worth going through with it. Beyond that, what are the options...??

hello I hope that there are surgeons here who can help or answer my question? I had bmx almost 4 yrs ago, with implants

Dr. Sullivan,

Can please advise me on finishing breast reconstruction while new on ibrance/ Gemara.

Thank you

Hi i was diagnosed with breast cancer back in june 2014 and had a single mastectomy because i was asked to wait a year for the second elective mastectomy. I was happy to wait for the second mastectomy and received some counselling as advised to make sure it was the right thing for me. I had my appointment with the plastic surgeon who treated me like a ten year old who didn't know my own mind. I am a 56 year old woman with a terrible history of family history. Three Aunts myself and my sister and various cousins who have all had breast cancer. We might not have the braca gene but we defiantly carry some gene that is passed on through our family that is what i was told by the Family history clinic. Each one of my Aunts and my elder sister had breast cancer twice. This made me want the elective second mastectomy. When i went for the plastic surgery appointment i feel i was treated with no respect what so ever. I have had trouble with my weight previous to my diagnosis and had a gastric band to loose weight (private operation) The reason for the weight problems is an under active thyroid i found this out when i had my parathyroid removed because two of them were malfunctioning and creating too much calcium. They said my thyroid had shut down and was not working properly either. This was approx 5 years ago and once i found out why i was gaining so much unexplained weight i have never put on a single pound since. I have the gastric band and have lost 4 stone which has been very hard because my metabolism is very low even with thyroxin. Now sorry to drone on but the plastic surgeon said he did not think the second mastectomy was necessary and he would not do the reconstruction until i lost over a stone in weight. I am a non smoking vegetarian. I left the appointment very upset. I have lost so much weight already and i am really struggling to get even a pound off. I did not even receive a follow up letter from the plastic surgeon so i know he has no plans to do the operation (second mastectomy and reconstruction) Just to finish i am 13.5 stone 5'3" .

I am 9 days post op from my expander to implant exchange. I have a drain in each side. Why do some women luck out and not have to have drains following this surgery? What determines drain placement and also when will drainage slow and is there something I am doing that is making my body produce more fluid.Still having close to 30 cc. A day

help! my situation is that i had breast cancer in 2005. i had a lumpectomy and radiation. i was left with a severely burned right breast , a pretty big hard lump where the lump was taken out, constant redness on the left side of my breast, swelling, pain and the breast with the cancer now is much smaller than the one that had no cancer. both breasts are very large. i wear a 48dd bra.....i also had neck pain and upper back pain for years but just didnt make the connection between that pain and my cancer....so i went to a plastic surgeon today. they took pictures and all but then gave me a list of information i would need to get from my ortho pedic doc, my primary care doc and notes from my surgery. i actually already have quite a bit of documentation because of horrible back pain and the surgery i had to have last april because of severe lower back injury in late March. i felt a little slighted by the doctor, that is to say, they are putting the bulk of the 'proof' and retrieving of documentation on me....it is almost like they dont seem that interested in helping me. i really need this surgery and i dont know what to do. i have 2 huge breasts, and one of them is smaller than the other. i have neck pain and pain in my upper back in my shoulder blades. i dont know what to do...i dont feel like they genuinely want to help me and there are not that many plastic surgeons in my insurance plan (united healthcare) do you have any advice for me
right breast , a pretty big hard lump where the lump was taken out, constant redness on the left side of my breast, swelling, pain and the breast with the cancer now is much smaller than the one that had no cancer. both breasts are very large. i wear a 48dd bra.....i also had neck pain and upper back pain for years but just didnt make the connection between that pain and my cancer....so i went to a plastic surgeon today. they took pictures and all but then gave me a list of information i would need to get from my ortho pedic rance plan (united healthcare) do you have any advice for me

What is the usual recovery period after recin with implants that required a revision

Hi - I am looking for a magic "right answer" which I know doesn't exist - but would appreciate your perspective. I am 45, 5'10" and an athletic 164 lbs. I have bilateral DCIS as well as ILC on the right side with pos nodes. My cancer is ER/PR pos and HER2 neg, Grade 1. I have had bilateral lumpectomies, am to start radiation on the right shortly, as well as aggressive hormonal therapy. The plan after we are done the treatment bit is to do bilateral mastectomies. My margins on the left side aren't perfect, so we are waiting 8 weeks after the 28 rad protocol, but not leaving it longer, as I am not having chemo, and we'd like all of that tissue out.

My dilemma is this. Currently 34DD, only got that big after IVF and pregnancies 9 and a creep of my apparent "set point", used to be a C cup. Not attached to any size at all. Would prefer a C to my current size. My surgeon says I'm "skinny" ( ha) but there is not enough abdominal tissue to give me more than an A cup (also, have a pfannensteil from a remote laparotomy.) She says this may be out of proportion with my frame, and so cosmetically not be as pleasing as a larger breast.

The other option is an expander on the left and a latissimus flap around an implant on the right to protect the implant from the less welcoming irradiated tissue, with gradual expansion to get symmetry.

I am worried about capsular issues. I am athletic, no triathlete, but love to run and hike and bike and ski and paddle board, and would like to surf and more, and I am worried about all that I read about implants causing problems with pec discomfort and mobility, not to mention repeat surgeries every 10 years or so...

What is your best advice?

I second the second opinion. My local PS thought I could be an A at most. I wanted large B or small C. I was probably a full B at the time. Went to see Dr. S in NOLA and he made me exactly the size I was and I had even lost weight while on chemo. My old bras fit perfectly. I at least expected to be a little lopsided. But I wasn't. He did and extended DIEP meaning my incision goes from hip to hip.

following my DIEP summer last year,have encapsulated seroma in abdomen.2 questions...have been told it may re-absorb,but can it be absorbed through the membrane?and......2 what will happen to fluid long term?Can it get infected,or just sit there,forever

I had. BMX , nipple and skin sparring in April 2011. Both scars run from the areola,touching it on one side, out towards my armpits. I noticed after a few months that my nipples were being pulled outwards on both breasts and mentioned this to both my BS and PS. BS said to wait a few months that things would change . She was right, they got worse. My PS said that it looked good and did not acknowledge any problem. He said that he didn't touch my nipples. Now after almost 5 years as the scars continue to contract my nipples are being pulled further and further outwards. Can anything be done about this ? Also when I first had surgery I was covered by private health insurance and am now on Medicare with UnitedHealth as my secondary . Will Medicare pay for corrections?

Thank you