Best Doctors in India for Breast Reconstruction Surgery
- Plastic Surgeon and Cosmetic Surgeon, Chennai, India
- Over 22 years’ experience
- Apollo Hospitals Greams Road
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Leela Praveen Kumar is one of the top Plastic Surgeons in Chennai with more than 22 years of dedicated experience.
- The doctor is frequently visited by the patients for Breast implants, Vaser Liposuction, rhinoplasty, facelift, Breast Reduction, Bariatric Surgery, Microsurgery, Body contouring, Hand surgery, and Onco Reconstruction.
- Dr. Leela Praveen Kumar also manages a non-Surgical fat reduction procedure, known as Cryolipolysis.
- Plastic Surgeon and Cosmetic Surgeon, Chennai, India
- Over 40 years’ experience
- Apollo Hospitals Greams Road
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Sundararajan M S is one of the best Plastic Surgeons in India, having practiced for more than 40 years.
- The doctor offers lipo filling, body contouring, non-Surgical facelift, tummy tuck, implants, etc.
- Dr. Sundarajan bagged the Best paper award in 2008 & 2013 and the other Gold Medal for his contribution to the field.
- Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Gurugram, India
- 25 + years’ experience
- Medanta-The Medicity, Gurgaon
Profile Highlights:
- Dr. Aditya Aggarwal is a distinguished plastic surgeon with a career spanning over 25 years, currently serving as the Vice Chairman of the Department of Plastic, Aesthetic, and Reconstructive Surgery at Medanta The Medicity.
- Dr. Aggarwal’s expertise in cosmetic and reconstructive surgery has earned him both national and international acclaim.
- Dr. Aggarwal’s medical journey began with training at the prestigious IMS BHU Varanasi and KGMC Lucknow (now KGMU), followed by advanced fellowships in Taiwan, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
Best Hospitals in India for Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Hospital Highlights:
- Apollo Hospitals is a private healthcare group in India, with its headquarters based in Chennai. Established in 1983 by Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, the group offers a wide range of medical treatments and services across various specialties.
- It is renowned for emphasizing innovation and utilizing cutting-edge medical technologies into patient treatment.
- Known as India’s first corporate hospital, Apollo Hospitals is often credited for pioneering the private healthcare revolution in the country.
- With clinics and hospitals located all throughout India, Apollo Hospitals is a nationwide healthcare organization. Its presence can also be found in foreign countries.
- Preventive health examinations, medical and surgical treatment, and diagnostic centres are just a few of the services that the Apollo group provides.
- The group has several centres of expertise, including Cardiac Sciences, Neurosciences, Orthopedics, Emergency Care, Cancer Care, and Organ Transplantation.
- City: Chennai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- RIMC is a multi-specialty hospital in a sprawling area of 36 acres located in Chromepet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
- The facility has 450 beds including 130 critical care beds, 9 operating rooms, modern reference laboratories and radiology services, and is conveniently located near road, rail and air transportation.
- RIMC is led and managed by world-renowned physicians committed to healthcare.
- RIMC offers the broadest range of clinical care, education, and research. The hospital offers state-of-the-art technology and modern treatment facilities designed to provide health care at an affordable cost.
- Rela Institute is driven by patient needs, comfort and confidence.
- City: New Delhi, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh is a multi-super specialty hospital that strives to provide world-class patient care by leaving no stone unturned.
- Fortis, Shalimar Bagh, with 262 beds and a 7.34-acre footprint, provides the best level of medical care through its team of doctors, nurses, technicians, and management professionals.
- City: Bengaluru, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Established in 2007, the Apollo Hospitals Bangalore is a 300-bed multispecialty hospital situated in Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore.
- Equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, it is a leading hospital dedicated to providing healthcare needs to patients with compassion and expertise.
- It is the first hospital to have completed the highest number of Robot Assisted Heart Surgeries in India.
- Over the years, it has successfully conducted some of the rarest medical procedures such as spinal angiolipoma excision, autologous chondrocyte implantations, and tibial tuberosity shift with MPSL reconstruction.
- The Apollo Hospitals Bangalore has the reputation of performing the greatest series of airway stents in the country.
- Additionally, the hospital is known for providing comprehensive treatment in specialties such as gastroenterology, urology, gynecology, oncology, colorectal surgery, etc.
- The “The Minimal Access Surgery Centre” (MASC), one of Apollo Hospitals, Bangalore’s premier Centres of Excellence, is devoted to the use of minimally invasive surgical procedures.
- In 2013, THE WEEK-A C Nielsen, Best Hospital Survey ranked Apollo Hospitals Bangalore as the 2nd best multi-speciality hospital in Bangalore.
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Gleneagles Global Hospital The 450-bed facility comprises of 17-stories, housing state-of-the-art infrastructure, and advanced medical care facilities.
- The hospital offers end-to-end clinical, surgical, and diagnostic services. It is equipped with a team of eminent medical professionals aided by qualified nurses and medical staff
- The Hospital offers advanced Endoscopic procedures, Hepatobiliary and Liver Surgeries, Surgical and Medical Gastroenterology, Bariatric Surgery, and Robotic surgery.
- The hospital is a center of excellence for Orthopedics, Joint Replacement, Knee Replacement, and Hip Replacement surgery.
- City: Hyderabad, India
Hospital Highlights:
- CARE Hospitals were established in the year 2000, by CARE Group.
- The multispecialty hospital has 435 beds, including 120 critical care beds, with an annual inflow of 180000 outpatients and 16,000 in-patients.
- The hospital provides specialty medical services in Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Nephrology, and Urology.
- The hospital has the first dual source, 128 slice CT scanner (for high precision cardiac imaging) – the first of its kind in south India.
- The hospital offers a wide range of accommodation facilities for the convenience of its varied patient base, ranging from general wards to super deluxe rooms.
- City: Mumbai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Fortis Hospital in Mulund is a 315-bed multi-speciality tertiary care hospital with five JCI accreditations that offers a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment services. The Fortis Hospital in Mulund delivers patient-centred treatment with cutting-edge technology, highly skilled and experienced surgeons, and paramedical staff.
- This institution houses Maharashtra’s largest multi-organ transplant centre. It is also the first heart transplant centre in western India to conduct 100 or more consecutive heart transplants in under four years. It is the only hospital in the city to have multi-organ transplants and has handled the youngest patient for angioplasty. Fortis Hospital Mulund now boasts the first advanced surgical robot in central Mumbai.
- Cardiology and heart surgery, urology, nephrology, neurosciences, orthopaedics, digestive care, emergency and critical care, and maternity care are among the services provided by the hospital.
- City: New Delhi, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka, is a super-specialty hospital in Dwarka, New Delhi, which is a part of Manipal Hospitals Group.
- The hospital aims to provide the best treatment on par with international standards at a fraction of the cost.
- Equipped with 380 beds, the hospital is also one of the new age hospitals which are equipped fully with state-of-the-art infrastructure, cutting-edge technology as well as the latest and advanced clinical practices. The hospital also has 13 modular Operation theatres with 118 beds which are solely meant for critical care.
- The hospital comprises internationally acclaimed doctors and highly professional and experienced hospital and medical staff who are able to provide preventive, therapeutic, and diagnostic services all under one roof.
- City: Chennai, India
Hospital Highlights:
- Located in Chennai, India, MGM Healthcare is a top multispecialty hospital that provides all medical services under one roof.
- Since its founding in 2019, MGM Healthcare has quickly become a leading national referral centre, creating several innovative flagship initiatives.
- MGM Healthcare combines next-generation medical and digital technologies to provide better patient results.
- With 12 centres of excellence, more than 400 inpatient beds, 100 intensive care unit beds, and 24/7 emergency care, MGM Healthcare leaves no chance in redefining the patient experience in Chennai.
- MGM Healthcare boasts 250+ expert doctors across 30+ departments, including Cardiology, Pulmonology, Neurology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and more.
- They house 12 specialized Centres of Excellence, including Neurosciences, Orthopaedics, and Multi-Organ Transplantation.
- Their team of doctors, nurses, and paramedics works together to give every patient individualized treatment.
Hospital Highlights:
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre is India’s premier multi-speciality tertiary care hospital and has been recognised as a global medical excellence centre.
- Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre has built an unrivalled level of trust with its patients over the years, thanks to a solid foundation that comprises cutting-edge facilities, the best medical competence, research, education, and charity endeavours.
- The hospital is quite proud of the fact that it now serves patients from all kinds of backgrounds, not just from the United States but from all around the world.
- The hospital has a total of 323 beds, one of the largest Intensive Care Units (ICUs), 12 Operation Theatres with modern amenities, over 300 consultants, and almost 1,800 personnel.
Breast Reconstruction Surgery
Women who undergo breast cancer surgery can choose breast reconstruction surgery for rebuilding the shape and look of their breast.
The procedure can be done several months or even years after going through surgery for breast cancer. Breast reconstruction can be of various types.
Purpose
Women consider breast reconstruction for various reasons:
- To make her chest look more balanced while she is wearing a bra or swimsuit.
- To help her clothes fit better.
- To regain her breast shape permanently.
- To feel better and more confident about her body.
Though this procedure often leaves scars, they can fade over time. There are newer techniques which have reduced the amount of scarring. While wearing a bra, a woman’s breasts should look alike in size and shape, helping her feel confident and comfortable in most types of clothing.
However, it is noteworthy that the reconstructed breast is generally not a perfect match or substitute for a natural breast.
If tissue from your back, tummy, or buttocks were used as part of your reconstruction procedure, then it is likely that those areas will look different after your surgery. It is important to talk to your surgeon about scars and changes in shape or contour.
Types
Breast reconstruction is generally of two types-
- Implants – Implants are generally made out of silicone or saline or sometimes a combination of both. They are generally placed underneath the chest muscle.
- Flaps- Flap procedures are performed by plastic and reconstructive surgeons specializing in microsurgery. During this procedure, a breast is created using tissue taken from other body parts. This can be your abdomen, back, thigh, or buttocks. The tissue is then transplanted to the chest by reconnecting the blood vessels to any new ones in your chest region.
Preparation
If you have decided to go for breast reconstruction, you need to consider several things, as you and your doctors talk about which kind of reconstruction is going to be best for you. Some factors you and your doctors need to think about while considering your options include:
- Your overall health
- Your breast size
- The location and size of your breast cancer
- Your breast cancer surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy)
- Whether you had any other treatments other than surgery for your cancer
- The amount of tissue that is available
- Your insurance coverage
- Whether you want reconstructive surgery on one or both breasts
- How quickly you want to be able to recover from surgery
- How different types of reconstructive surgery might affect other body parts
- Whether you are willing to have more than one surgery as part of the reconstruction
Your surgeon will need to review your medical history as well as your overall health. Then he/she will decide and will explain which reconstructive options might be best for you based on your age, health, body type, as well as other factors.
You will need to discuss with your surgeon openly about your preferences. Be sure to voice any concerns if you have any.
Your breast surgeon and your plastic surgeon will likely give you instructions on how you can prepare for your surgery. It will probably include:
- Help with quitting smoking if you smoke regularly
- Instructions on consuming food and drink before surgery
- Instructions for taking or avoiding certain kinds of vitamins, medicines, as well as dietary or herbal supplements for some time prior to your surgery
Arrange for someone for taking you home or book a cab after your stay at the hospital. You might also need someone to help you out for a few days after the surgery.
Procedure
Generally, the first stage of reconstruction is done using general anesthesia. This means you will be given sedatives and will be asleep during the entire procedure.
During the follow-up procedures, you will likely need only local anesthesia. This means that only the area where the doctor is working on is going to be numbed. A sedative drug might also be used for making you feel relaxed but awake.
Implants
When a breast is being reconstructed with implants, a surgeon will first need to insert silicone or saline implants underneath your skin or muscle, in the place of the previous breast tissue.
This can be a two stage procedure for most people. During the first stage, your surgeon will place a tissue expander underneath the remaining breast skin or pectoralis muscles. This expander will be serving as a temporary saline implant which will gradually stretch your remaining tissue.
After the person has healed completely after the surgery, your surgeon will need to inject sterile saline or saltwater through your skin into the tissue expander weekly. This balloon grows over time, stretching the overlying skin and muscle until the breast can reach a size that is comfortable for you.
When the chest tissues heal and enough saline has been added to the tissue expander in preparation for the implants, the second procedure will be performed for inserting the implants.
Next, your surgeon will remove the tissue expanders and replace them with either a silicone or saline implant.
Skin flap surgery
In a skin flap surgery, your surgeon will be taking tissue from another part of the body, and then he/she will be moving it to the chest for rebuilding the breast.
The surgeon will usually remove this tissue from various places of your body, which can include the buttock, back or thigh. Skin flap surgery might be highly complex, as it involves transferring tissue from one area of the body to another.
Skin flap surgery is also of two types.
Free flap surgery
In free flap surgery, a surgeon will completely remove the tissue and the blood vessels, for placement in the breast. In this method, they stitch those blood vessels into your other blood vessels in your chest at the intended site of placement. These blood vessels are generally quite small and therefore, the surgeon will be using a microscope for sewing them together. This method is known as microsurgery.
Pedicle flap surgery
In pedicle flap surgery, your surgeon will not entirely remove your transplanted tissue from its blood vessels. Instead, the tissue is going to remain attached to the body and the surgeon will be rotating this into the chest to form the breast.
In this method, your surgeon may use tissue from the abdomen or back for pedicle flap surgery.
Aftercare
Since breast reconstruction is major surgery, a person might need to spend a few days at the hospital, whether it was implant reconstruction or flap reconstruction.
Sometimes, people might need more than one single surgery for fully reconstructing the breast(s). Generally, skin flap surgery usually has a longer recovery time than implant reconstruction.
In both types of surgery, you will be unable to perform most of your daily activities for around two months. There might be a psychological impact of losing one or both of your breasts as well.
In the first two months of recovery, people generally experience:
- fatigue
- restrictions on movement
- pain, swelling, bruising, or soreness in the breasts and at the site from which the surgeon removed tissue
Following the surgery, you will most likely require stitches and drainage tubes. Within time, though some sensation will return, reconstructed breasts will not be providing the same level of sensation.
Nipple reconstruction might also be required. During this procedure, a surgeon will be sewing together small pieces of skin on the reconstructed breast to create a bump that will resemble a nipple.
Risks and complications
The risks and complications which can occur during the procedure include:
- extreme fatigue
- bleeding or blood clots
- fluid buildup in the breast or at the donor site (for skin flap surgery)
- infection
- slow or disrupted wound healing
- potential complications with anesthesia
After surgery, there might be some additional complications such as:
- tissue death or necrosis, which might occur in the skin, fat or tissue flap
- a loss of muscle strength at your donor site, if skin flap surgery was performed
- changes in breast or nipple sensation
- need for more surgical procedures in case of complications
- uneven breasts
- problems with the implant, such as movement, leakage, rupture or scar tissue
- a need to remove the implants