|
|
Article: Psychological benefits of immediate breast reconstruction. (mastectomy)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- October 1, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy in patients with locally advanced breast cancer is safe and provides important psychological benefits, maintains Mark Sultan, assistant professor of surgery, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, New York. Immediate reconstruction routinely is offered to women with early-stage breast cancer, but not to those with more advanced disease. Oncologists have been reluctant to offer immediate reconstruction to the latter because such patients require preoperative chemotherapy, which can cause complications with wound healing and infections, possibly delaying the resumption of postoperative chemotherapy. "However, since the ...