14 DAY TRIAL // Usually, women who have gone through masectomy want to have their breast(s) reconstructed. But a recent research found that breast reconstruction is not quite for any woman, as women with very high BMIs (significantly obese) may encounter problems when going through the plastic surgery. Speaking at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) Plastic Surgery held recently in San Francisco, medical experts present advised women with very high body masses to try leading a healthy lifestyle and shed weight before resorting to breast reconstruction.
Elisabeth Beahm, MD, ASPS Member Surgeon, author of the study, and associate professor at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who was present at the conference stated: "Just because someone is overweight doesn't mean they should not be entitled to undergo breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Feeling 'whole' can be an integral part of recovery from cancer, yet significant concerns have been raised about the wisdom of doing breast reconstruction in very obese patients due to a high complication rate. "
Therefore, further research must be made before stating that breast reconstruction for women with BMIs higher than 35 is safe. It is all about the outcomes of the surgical intervention, because these women may have an increased risk for health complications after having their breasts reconstructed. In conclusion, instead of having the breast reconstructed but developing various annoying symptoms, very obese women should try to lose weight and then undergo the operation.
Dr. Beahm explained: "We investigated whether plastic surgeons can safely perform breast reconstruction for these patients or if we would be depriving them reconstruction simply because of empiric concerns for their weight. We found that significantly obese patients, those having a BMI of 35 or higher, had a higher risk for complications. Our experience suggests that in many cases it may be more prudent to delay breast reconstruction until the patient has lost weight."