Why Choose A Plastic Surgeon?

The number one priority of any breast cancer diagnosis is cure. Having a high-quality breast reconstruction is very important but ultimately, if cancer care is compromised or if a reconstruction delays part of your cancer treatment, there may be an increased chance of cancer recurrence i.e the breast cancer comes back.

With that in mind, Breast Care Tasmania takes the approach that the best way to provide reconstruction options to women with breast cancer is by having a breast surgeon provide your cancer surgery and a plastic surgeon perform any reconstruction. This ensures that any individual patient receives the best of both surgical approaches. Your cancer surgeon conveys to the patient and the plastic surgeon exactly what is needed surgically to provide the best chance of cure from the cancer and the plastic surgeon can then independently advise the patient on what the available options are to restore the appearance of the breast.

Some breast surgeons perform their own reconstructions, but as they have not the experience and training of fully qualified plastic and reconstructive surgeon these surgeons usually offer only a limited range of reconstructive options, usually implant based.

Breast reconstruction with implants may not sound as complicated as a free flap or autologous tissue reconstruction, but the reality is that implant-based reconstruction is a sometimes fraught process, with the potential for persisting or even catastrophic complications. If there is a problem with an implant-based reconstruction, then the best person to deal with that problem is a skilled Plastic Surgeon. The process of consent means that you should be warned about all the risks of implant-based reconstruction. It also means you have every right to ask your surgeon how those problems are going to be dealt with.