Two-Stage Breast Reconstruction
A combination of procedures helps to gradually create a space in your chest tissue for a breast implant. The most common approach includes a tissue expander followed by placement of a breast implant – allowing for the most flexibility in shaping the breast.
First Stage
Your surgeon will surgically insert a tissue expander, and slowly expand the space over time for an implant. Typically, you'll meet with your plastic surgeon on a regular basis to fill the expander with sterile saline to gradually stretch the skin.
Second One-Stage
Once the space reaches the desired size and the tissue has healed, your surgeon will perform a second surgery to remove the tissue expander and replace it with the breast implant. If a mastectomy was only performed on one breast, you might choose to have the other breast augmented to achieve symmetry.
Product Options
Your immediate breast reconstruction can be performed in a few ways: Using tissue expanders with breast implants, using breast implants alone, or using a dual-function implant – a combination tissue expander and breast implant.
