Get Well Wednesday: Breast Surgery Can Restore Breasts After Cancer

Dr. Jeffrey Hartog, D.M.D., M.D., is the director of the Bougainvillea Clinique in Winter Park, Fla. He is dual Board-Certified in plastic Surgery and oral and maxillofacial Surgery. Dr. Hartog lectures and trained all over the world. He has completed more than 4,000 breast surgeries in his career and is an acknowledged expert in breast augmentation and regenerative breast surgery.

When not in surgery, he is an avid scuba diver and an award-winning photographer, including underwater photography. Hartog wants women to know that they have breast reconstruction options after breast cancer surgery. Surprisingly, 7 out of 10 women don’t know their breast reconstruction options after a mastectomy. The American Cancer Society says that although African-American women get less breast cancer than whites, its the most common of cancers among them.

Dr. Hartog knows of what he speaks – he performed breast reconstruction on his own wife, Michelle, after her breast cancer diagnosis and mastectomy. He reconstructed Michelle’s breasts through autologous fat transfer (AFT or fat grafting), a natural alternative to saline or silicone implants. Virtually scarless, the procedure uses a woman’s own fat to give women natural-looking and feeling breasts.

After using gentle liposuction to remove fat, it is then injected in very small amounts in the desired areas allowing the body to build and attach the blood vessel networks needed for the fat tissue to survive.

With an increase in mastectomies in recent years, many breast cancer survivors are seeking the best solution for their needs.

With fat grafting as an available option, women should know that they have a better solution than a life without breasts or one with artificial implants.

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