Breast Surgery

Whether you’ve had breast implants, a breast lift, or breast reconstruction surgery, there are a few things to note.  First, the composition and size of your breasts has changed.  With these changes comes some amount of scar tissue.  Scar tissue can be problematic when using traditional mammography or anatomical breast screenings.  The scar tissue can interfere with mammography’s ability to accurately identify abnormalities in your breasts.  Second, women who have undergone cosmetic breast surgery seem less likely to have their annual screening mammograms.  This seems to result from a fear that the breast implants could rupture or become damaged during mammography’s compression plate screening technique.  I personally have seen this happen in many cases,  Understandably, women do not want to undergo the pain, stress, and subsequent surgery to replace a ruptured breast implant.  It is also costly and has inherent risk, as do any surgical procedures requiring anesthetization of the patient.

Thermography is an excellent breast assessment tool which uses no compression, thus eliminating the possibility of implant rupture from your screening test.  In fact, nothing touches you at all.  For this reason, it is an ideal assessment method for anyone who has undergone any of the breast surgeries listed above.  It is also ideal for women who have undergone radical or partial mastectomy.  There is no radiation used in Thermography, it is non-invasive so in addition to being painless, it is also safe.

Thermography can identify the differences in post surgical breast composition caused by scar tissue and breast tissue revisions, versus developing pathology.  Scar tissue, once it is healed, should not have any activity associated with it, unlike developing breast disease.

It is imperative that women have routine annual breast screenings and perform monthly breast self exams.  Thermography is an excellent choice for screening women with breast implants or who have had cosmetic/medical breast procedures.  I urge you to learn more about your options and to schedule your appointment today.