How a reconstruction is planned
The consultation starts with why the breast needs rebuilding. A mastectomy that has not happened yet. A mastectomy that healed years ago and was never reconstructed. An implant that ruptured, contracted, or no longer belongs. Radiation that thinned the skin. A lumpectomy that left a hollow. Each of those is a different operation, and several of them should not be decided on the day you first ask.
Dr. Sayah examines the skin, the scars, the other breast, and what tissue is available if your own tissue is the right reconstruction. He reads the cancer plan with Dr. Funk when cancer care is still underway, because chemotherapy and radiation change the order of operations. An implant placed into a field that is about to be radiated often has to be redone. Waiting, or choosing a flap instead, is sometimes the more reliable path.
You should leave the visit knowing which of the three methods fits, what the scars will be, whether the operation is one stage or several, and what can go wrong. Capsular contracture, implant rupture, flap healing, and the need for later fat grafting are discussed before a date is set. Pathology questions, including anything concerning for BIA-ALCL, go to Dr. Takasumi before metal or tissue is removed and discarded.
Bring the implant card, the operative report from the original surgery, and the radiation summary if there was radiation. Photos of what you hope to look like are useful. Photos of someone else's result are not a plan.