This week, Dr. James Craigie of The Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction answers a special two-part question.

Q: Do you know of surgeons in northwest Ohio who can do natural breast reconstruction? I was diagnosed with DCIS and had a lumpectomy done and now am considering a bilateral mastectomy instead of radiation. I was a AA cup size and don’t have much breast tissue left, so I feel like I could use the reconstruction, which is why I am considering the mastectomy.

A: Thank you for your question. I’m sorry I don’t know anyone in that area. Based on your situation you are asking a very good question!

If you have little breast tissue remaining after your lumpectomy then if you went through radiation the breast may develop more abnormal shape. When that occurs, it is difficult to fix that breast because of the radiation effects. If you instead remove the remaining breast tissue you could rebuild the breast to the size you wanted based on how much of your own tissue you have to use. Also you would not need radiation. Remember that implants after radiation are more likely to have complications than without radiation. 

Q: If the DCIS is in one breast, would a double mastectomy make sense, so I could even out the “new” size I choose? Also, do you have information on recurrence rates if I try a nipple-sparing or skin sparing mastectomy?  Is that wise at all?

A: Questions regarding recurrence rates are best answered by the surgeon who performs the mastectomy. We work closely with them as a team and perform the reconstruction immediately after the mastectomy. I’ll be glad to forward your question to the expert. In general, recurrence rates should be the same or lower for mastectomy vs.  lumpectomy and radiation. Skin and nipple sparing mastectomy should be the same as well. For your situation we would get the cancer specialists we work with to give us their opinion before we could give you specific recommendations.

We do have patients choose to do what you mentioned frequently, for the same reasons. Preventive mastectomies are done to reduce the chances of getting breast cancer. If someone is high risk, then they  might decide to reduce the risk of DCIS on the other side. When someone has enough donor tissue we try to give them the best result possible based on each person’s expectations. If you had a bilateral mastectomy we would try to make the new breasts fuller and uplifted as long as there was enough donor tissue to work with. I hope this answers your questions. Let me know.

Dr. James Craigie

Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction

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