NEW TECHNIQUE FOR BREAST RECONSTRUCTION

As a Fort Myers plastic surgeon, I find breast reconstruction to be very popular among women who have undergone a mastectomy.

One of the most common forms of breast reconstruction is to put a tissue expander at the site of the mastectomy – expand it over several months – then replace it with a permanent prosthesis. This process can take several months.

A company called Air Expanders has developed an expander that patients, with the help of a remote control can expand the area in a much shorter period of time – instead of months maybe only a couple of weeks.

No more needles – and the patient can decide just how big they want to be. The studies with this new device are being done at New York Presbyterian hospital. The doctor conducting the study is Dr. Jeffrey Ackerman.