Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in Spanish women. It is estimated that 1 in 10 women will suffer from this disease at some point in their lives, which represents about 22,000 cases per year, according to data from the Spanish Association Against Cancer (Asociación Española Contra El Cáncer). Breast implants have always been the subject of debate, since the fact of introducing a foreign material into the body can generate mistrust, but in reality, expert surgeons in breast reconstruction, such as Dr. Pietro Mulas, explain that there is no relationship between breast cancer and breast implants.
Do implants interfere in the early diagnosis of breast cancer?
It has also been argued on occasions that breast implants interfere in the early diagnosis of breast cancer. In fact, diseases of this type are even easier to detect, since the prostheses are a very different material from that of our body and, therefore, are very well discernible from the organic tissue during the examinations.
Another point in favor commented by Dr. Mulas, a member of Top Doctors, is that women with breast implants tend to have more regular breast check-ups, which allows them to have better control and an early diagnosis of breast cancer.
In what cases can breast reconstruction with prostheses be performed?
Breast reconstruction is performed by a plastic surgeon who is an expert in oncological reconstruction after mastectomy. The mastectomy is the removal of the breast and this can be total or with preservation of the areola and nipple. Breast reconstruction can be immediate, right after breast cancer surgery, or later, in a second operation.
Sometimes there is the possibility of carrying out a breast reconstruction using the definitive prosthesis directly, but “in other cases we need to first implant a breast expander that extends the skin and tissues and then, in a later intervention, replace it with a definitive silicone gel implant,” the doctor explains.
Dr. Pietro Mulas explains that immediate breast reconstruction with prostheses is also performed in those patients who, due to a genetic risk of suffering breast cancer, decide to undergo a preventive mastectomy.