Updated July 12th, 2022

Breast Reconstruction After Cancer is Not a Boob Job; What To Know About The Surgery & Clearing Up The Misconception

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Breast Reconstruction Surgery

Breast reconstruction surgery is a very personal decision that women may consider after going through a mastectomy for breast cancer treatment.
Plastic surgeons can reconstruct your breasts with implants or with your own tissue taken from some other place on your body, such as your back, your abdomen or your inner thigh.
It’s important that people do not mistake breast reconstruction surgery as a boob job. Rather than simply altering their appearance, breast reconstruction is often a way for women to feel comfortable in their bodies again.

For women who have gone through breast reconstruction after cancer, a common problem that they may face is the misconception that their surgery is the same as a boob job. It’s important that people know the difference, and that this mistake may significantly affect a woman’s self-esteem.

Breast reconstruction surgery is a decision that women may consider after going through a mastectomy for breast cancer treatment. The reconstruction process can happen at the time of the surgery to remove the breast, or later on in the case of implants. It’s a very personal choice for women to make, and many actually don’t go through reconstruction. However, for the women who do, they’ve said that it’s a way for them to feel more like themselves after going through the difficult experience of a breast cancer battle.

“It’s a very private thing,” Dr. Andrea Pusic, chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Brigham Health, said in a previous interview for SurvivorNet. “Breast reconstruction is a restoration of a woman’s form and her sense of self. A lot of breast reconstruction is trying to erase the trauma of the mastectomy surgery, putting the cancer behind a patient, saying this is in the rear view mirror, and putting her back on track.”

Seeing as this surgery is a very personal decision and process, it’s important to understand that breast reconstruction is not the same as a boob job. As opposed to a boob job, women who opt to go through breast reconstruction surgery aren’t simply trying to alter their appearance but attempting to feel more at home in their bodies after going through a tremendously difficult experience.

Breast cancer survivor Caitlin Kiernam shares life after reconstruction surgery

Breast Reconstruction: The Process

Plastic surgeons can reconstruct your breasts with implants or with your own tissue taken from some other place on your body, such as your back, your abdomen or your inner thigh. Reconstruction that uses your own tissue is called a flap procedure. A flap can produce breasts that look and feel more natural than implants. Like natural breasts, they can also change as your body changes. For example, they can get bigger or smaller as your weight changes. However, not all women are eligible for this surgery such as those who smoke, have poorly controlled diabetes, circulation problems or connective tissue disorders. Luckily, there’s another option.

Breast implant surgery is a significantly simpler process than a flap procedure, and therefore the recovery process is much quicker. However, implants won't look and feel like as much like natural breasts. As you age or gain or lose weight, the implants will stay the same, which could make them look less natural over time. Implants can sometimes leak or burst. In this case, you would have to have them replaced. When choosing implants, women will then need to decide whether they want saline or silicone ones.

The main difference between the two is that saline is a sterile saltwater-filled implant and typically requires less monitoring since it’ll be very obvious if it starts leaking. While silicone implants usually feel better and look more realistic, they require a higher level of surveillance during an MRI. Additionally, if the silicone does leak, it doesn’t put your health in jeopardy but it will need to be replaced immediately.

Dr. Andrea Pusic breaks down different options for breast reconstruction

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