New Tissue Expander Technology Facilitates Atlanta Breast Reconstruction Surgery
The highly skilled surgeons of Atlanta Plastic Surgery see a variety of breast surgery patients. Performing both cosmetic and reconstructive breast procedures, our plastic surgeons make sure to individually address the diverse needs required by both types of breast surgery. In order to offer Atlanta patients the most advanced plastic surgery technology, our surgeons participate in events like the Atlanta Breast Surgery Symposium and use our practice-wide blog to educate patients. The most recent advancement in the world of breast surgery from the University of Oxford is a hydrogel self-inflating tissue expander to facilitate breast reconstruction surgery.
Unfortunately, the breast tissue often changes after breast cancer patients undergo mastectomy surgery, becoming much tighter and harder to mold. During breast reconstruction using a breast implant, tissue expanders are often used to stretch the skin prior to surgery and make room for the implant. Until now, breast reconstruction required multiple surgeries to accommodate the gradual nature of traditional tissue expansion. Now, this intelligent, self-inflating tissue expander, which can be shaped by a plastic surgeon before insertion, allows surgeons to precisely control the direction, timing, and rate of the device’s expansion within the breast cavity. Read more
Breast Surgery: More than just Breast Enhancement and Implants
If you say “breast surgery,” breast implants may be the first thing that comes to mind, but there’s much more to breast surgery than just implants. The plastic and reconstructive surgeons at Atlanta Plastic Surgery perform breast procedures on both women and men for aesthetic and reconstructive purposes. Whether the surgery is elective (i.e.- breast augmentation) or necessary (i.e.- breast reconstruction), our breast surgeons (Dr. Beegle, Dr. Elliott, Dr. Namnoum, Dr. Maske, and Dr. Williams) perform these procedures to enhance the body’s appearance and give the patient a more proportionate shape. Some common Atlanta breast procedures include: breast augmentation, breast lift (mastopexy), breast reduction, male breast reduction, breast revision, and breast reconstruction. Read more
Atlanta Plastic Surgery Doctors in the News Discussing the 2011 Atlanta Breast Surgery Symposium
Board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeons Dr. Jim Namnoum and Dr. Franklyn Elliott of Atlanta Plastic Surgery will moderate the live Atlanta breast reconstruction and breast augmentation surgery procedures at the 27th Annual Breast Surgery Symposium January 14th- January 16th at the Intercontinental Hotel in Buckhead .
Hosted by the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (SESPRS), the Atlanta event strives to keep cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgeons around the globe up-to-date with the most accurate and effective breast surgery methods and tools. In addition to Atlanta Plastic Surgery, the Breast Surgery Symposium features lecturers from plastic surgery centers across the world including: Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Sao Paulo.
Co-Chairman of the event, Dr. Namnoum sees immense potential in the burgeoning surgical topics to be detailed during the event including: fat transfer for breast augmentation, breast reconstruction using local anesthesia, and fat-grafting/ engineered tissue use in breast reconstruction.
Dr. Namnoum, speaking about Read more
Quantitative, Volumetric Data Useful in Breast Augmentation and Breast Cancer Prevention
The plastic and reconstructive surgeons at Atlanta Plastic Surgery perform a variety of breast surgeries including: breast augmentation (enhancement), breast reduction, breast lift (mastopexy), breast revision, and breast reconstruction. You may be familiar with the A,B,C lettering label system associated with bra size, but if recent news from the FDA is any proof, numbers are the most useful tool in cosmetic breast procedures and breast cancer prevention.
Breast implants, saline or silicone filled shells inserted atop or underneath the pectoral muscles of women, are used in Atlanta breast augmentation or Atlanta breast reconstruction to enhance the appearance of the breasts. Implant size, unlike bra size, is best described in terms of volume (measured in cubic centimeters). Because each woman’s frame, weight, natural breast shape, and skin elasticity will affect the overall appearance of an implant, volumetric data is most useful in determining optimal implant for breast enlargement surgery.
Like implant measurements, quantitative data is becoming more and more valuable for radiologists in the prevention of breast cancer. Announced via press release on November 19th, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new mammography breast imaging software (Volpara™), which calculates and tracks the breast density of patients to better identify masses in the breasts of patients with naturally dense breast tissue.
Until this development, radiologists could only instruct patients with dense tissue to undergo additional (and costly) imaging like an MRI or ultrasound to thoroughly review any questionable areas and ensure the breast was cancer-free. While the inventors of the technology don’t explicitly point to the machines use with breast surgery patients, one could speculate that the software’s advantageous ability to track density changes over time would also be useful for breast reconstruction patients who may have extensive scar tissue from previous surgeries which could muddle the results of traditional mammography. Additionally, the technology seems to show promise for patients with breast implants who currently have to undergo an MRI every two years to check for changes to their breast implants.
Atlanta Plastic Surgery’s surgeons continually expand the planning and imaging technology they utilize in pediatric and adult reconstructive surgeries. To read more about emerging plastic surgery and reconstructive surgery technology, visit the Atlanta Plastic Surgery website and continue to read their practice-wide blog.
