Myself, I’ve never had a mastectomy. I’ve had my own mastectomy on my own terms, in my own time, with my own family and without the need for reconstruction. This year, I’m doing it all myself.
The thing is, mastectomy, while it can be a very life-changing event, can also be traumatic. I know this because I had my own mastectomy a few years ago, and I had to get reconstructive surgery afterwards, which was totally worth it.
The thing is that mastectomy is actually a fairly easy operation. You have to remove the entire breast, and if you’re at least 40 you can do this without much disruption to your shoulder or other areas of your body. That’s not the case for everyone though. For women, it’s much more painful and traumatic than it was for me. For women, having a mastectomy can be more dangerous.
Some women do have mastectomies, but for a fair number of them there is an option called reconstruction. This is when breast tissue from one or both breasts is transplanted into the body, usually after the body has been exposed to radiation and/or chemotherapy. In some cases, the surgery is more than 50% successful, and the woman retains the functionality of her original breast.
But for a lot of women, this option can be problematic. While reconstructive surgery is less invasive than a mastectomy, there are still numerous risks, including complications and cancer. It’s extremely difficult to find the right surgeon. And in fact, the rate of breast reconstruction after mastectomy is actually quite high. But the risk of complications is extremely low, and the recovery time is just as long.
Well, first of all, if you find a surgeon who performs a mastectomy, there is no need to go through reconstruction. Second, if you have a surgeon who is an expert at taking out large breasts, like Dr. Anthony Ficosa, you don’t need to take out your entire breast to have a perfectly symmetrical one. Third, there is no reason to go through a reconstruction procedure.
Dr. Anthony Ficosa is really good at taking out large breasts. He is also really good at not having to go through reconstruction surgery. He gets the job done without having to spend a lot of money. He took out his entire breast on the day of his surgery, and he’s been doing it ever since. He got the job done without undergoing reconstruction surgery, and he’s been doing it ever since.
As you might expect, Ficosa is a big fan of minimally invasive surgery—that is, procedures that do not involve major pain or tissue loss. A new technique called an Excisional Mastectomy (EM), pioneered by Dr. Anthony Ficosa, allows one to remove the patient’s entire breast with minimal scarring.
Ficosa is a board-certified plastic surgeon in Manhattan and a founding director of the New York chapter of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. His clinic is one of the most well-known and respected in the country, and has been serving patients of all types for the last 15 years.
Ficosa describes his technique as a “radical mastectomy” in which he removes all of the breast tissue, including the nipple, but leaves the surrounding skin intact. The result is a healthy-looking scar that is nearly invisible. Patients describe the results as “completely natural.” Another advantage of his technique is that it is minimally invasive, which means it is less traumatic to the skin.