You may have had or are about to have a mastectomy — by choice or for medical necessity. If so, your doctor has likely told you about options to rebuild your breast or breasts — a surgery called breast reconstruction. Breast reconstruction takes place during or after mastectomy, and in some cases, lumpectomy. During reconstruction, a plastic surgeon creates a breast shape using an implant, tissue from another place on your body, or both.
Whatever your age, marital status, sexual activity or orientation, you can’t predict how you will react to losing a breast. It’s very normal to feel anxious, uncertain, sad, and mournful about giving up a part of your body. Moving forward, you now have the opportunity to shape and determine what you want to have happen next. But first you must do some careful thinking and delving into your feelings in order to figure out what is best for you. In this section, we’ll talk you through each of the reconstruction techniques, including no reconstruction, what’s involved, and any risks.
Asking yourself some questions can help you start to think about what type of reconstruction you want — if you want reconstruction at all:

  • How important is rebuilding your breast to you?
  • How important is it to you that your breasts be symmetrical?
  • Can you live with a breast form that you take off and put on?
  • Do you need breast reconstruction to feel whole again?
  • Are you OK with having more surgery for breast reconstruction after mastectomy or lumpectomy?

It’s also important to know that while breast reconstruction rebuilds the shape of the breast, it doesn’t restore sensation to the breast or the nipple. Over time, the skin over the reconstructed breast can become more sensitive to touch, but it won’t be exactly the same as it was before surgery.
This Information is Brought to You Courtesy of Dr. Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa
En Espanol
Usted puede haber tenido o están a punto de tener una mastectomía – por elección o por necesidad médica. Si es así, probablemente su médico le ha dicho sobre las opciones para reconstruir su seno o senos – una cirugía llamada reconstrucción mamaria. La reconstrucción del pecho se lleva a cabo durante o después de la mastectomía, y en algunos casos, la tumorectomía. Durante la reconstrucción, un cirujano plástico crea una forma de seno usando un implante, el tejido de otra parte de su cuerpo, o en ambos.
Sea cual sea su edad, estado civil, la actividad o la orientación sexual, no se puede predecir cómo va a reaccionar a la pérdida de un seno. Es muy normal sentirse ansioso, inseguro, triste y lúgubre acerca de renunciar a una parte de su cuerpo. En el futuro, ahora tiene la oportunidad de dar forma y determinar lo que desea que sucederá después. Pero primero hay que pensar un poco cuidadoso y profundizar en sus sentimientos con el fin de averiguar qué es lo mejor para usted. En esta sección, vamos a hablar a través de cada una de las técnicas de reconstrucción, incluyendo la no reconstrucción, lo que está involucrado, y cualquier riesgo.
Haciéndose algunas preguntas puede ayudarle a empezar a pensar en qué tipo de reconstrucción que desea – si quieres reconstrucción en absoluto:
¿Qué tan importante es la reconstrucción de la mama con usted?
¿Qué tan importante es para usted que sus senos serán simétricos?
¿Se puede vivir con una forma del seno que te quitas y pones?
¿Necesita reconstrucción mamaria a sentir de nuevo todo?
¿Estás bien con tener más cirugía para la reconstrucción mamaria después de una mastectomía o lumpectomía?
También es importante saber que mientras que la reconstrucción mamaria reconstruye la forma de la mama, no restablecerá la sensibilidad a la mama o el pezón. Con el tiempo, la piel sobre el seno reconstruido puede ser más sensible al tacto, pero no va a ser exactamente el mismo que era antes de la cirugía.
Esta información se ponga a usted por cortesía del Dr. Bishara y La Cirugía Plástica y Paragon Med Spa

Breast augmentation, also called augmentation mammaplasty, involves surgical placement of an implant behind each breast to increase its volume and enhance its shape. Often, after weight loss, childbirth, or as a result of aging, the breasts lose volume and their shape changes. Also, many women choose to have their breasts enlarged in order to satisfy their desire for a fuller bustline. Breast augmentation can be performed at any age after the breasts are developed.

Benefits:

  • Positive aesthetic results, and data has shown patients often receive a substantial psychological boost.
  • It is often possible to return to work within a week, depending on the nature of your work.
  • No scientific evidence that breast augmentation increases the risk of breast cancer, autoimmune disease, or any systemic illness.
  • No evidence that breast implants affect pregnancy or ability to breast-feed.

Other Considerations:

  • Every surgical procedure carries some risk. Potential complications may include reactions to anesthesia, blood accumulation that may need to be drained surgically, and infection.
  • Changes in nipple or breast sensation may result from breast augmentation surgery, although they are usually temporary.
  • When a breast implant is inserted, a scar capsule forms around it as part of the natural healing process. The capsule may sometimes tighten and compress the implant, causing the breast to feel firmer than normal. If the capsular contracture is severe, it may cause discomfort or changes in the breast’s appearance. Additional surgery may be needed to modify or remove scar tissue, or perhaps remove or replace the implant.
  • Breast implants can make performing and reading mammograms technically difficult. Placement of the implant underneath the pectoral muscle may interfere less with mammographic examination.
  • As with other surgical implants, breast implants cannot be expected to last forever. If a saline-filled implant breaks, its contents are harmlessly absorbed by the body, usually within hours.
  • Pregnancy can alter breast size in an unpredictable way and could affect the long-term results of breast augmentation.
  • As of May 2000, Federal regulation prohibits breast augmentation for purely aesthetic surgery in women less than 18 years of age

This Information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Mark Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa

en Español

 
El aumento de senos, también llamada mamoplastia de aumento, implica la colocación quirúrgica de un implante detrás de cada seno para aumentar su volumen y mejorar su forma. A menudo, después de la pérdida de peso, el parto, o como resultado del envejecimiento, los senos pierden volumen y su forma cambia. Además, muchas mujeres prefieren que sus pechos agrandados con el fin de satisfacer su deseo de tener un busto más lleno. El aumento de senos se puede realizar a cualquier edad después se desarrollan los senos.
BENEFICIOS:
Resultados estéticos positivos, y los datos han demostrado que los pacientes a menudo reciben un impulso psicológico sustancial.A menudo es posible volver al trabajo dentro de una semana, dependiendo de la naturaleza de su trabajo.No hay evidencia científica de que el aumento del pecho aumenta el riesgo de cáncer de mama, enfermedad autoinmune, o cualquier enfermedad sistémica.No hay evidencia de que los implantes de mama afectan el embarazo o la capacidad de amamantar.
OTRAS CONSIDERACIONES:
Cada procedimiento quirúrgico conlleva cierto riesgo. Las complicaciones potenciales pueden incluir reacciones a la anestesia, la acumulación de sangre que pueden necesitar ser drenado quirúrgicamente, y la infección.Cambios en el pezón o la sensación del pecho pueden resultar de la cirugía de aumento de pecho, a pesar de que suelen ser temporales.Cuando un implante mamario se inserta, se forma una cápsula cicatricial alrededor de él como parte del proceso de curación natural. La cápsula puede a veces apriete y comprimir el implante, causando la mama a sentirse más firme que la normal. Si la contractura capsular es grave, puede causar molestias o cambios en la apariencia de la mama. Cirugía adicional puede ser necesaria para modificar o eliminar el tejido cicatricial, o tal vez eliminar o reemplazar el implante.Los implantes mamarios pueden hacer escénicas y mamografías lectura técnicamente difícil. La colocación del implante debajo del músculo pectoral puede interferir menos con el examen mamográfico.Al igual que con otros implantes quirúrgicos, los implantes mamarios no se puede esperar que dure para siempre. Si una solución salina implante se rompe, su contenido se inofensivamente absorbidas por el cuerpo, por lo general en cuestión de horas.El embarazo puede alterar el tamaño del pecho de un modo impredecible y podría afectar a los resultados a largo plazo de aumento de senos.Hasta mayo de 2000, la regulación federal prohíbe el aumento de senos para la cirugía puramente estética en mujeres menores de 18 años de edadEsta información es traído a usted por cortesía de Dr. Mark Bishara y La Cirugía Plástica y Paragon Med Spa

The BotTom line when it comes to an insurer’s decision to pay for plastic surgery is typically whether a procedure is considered medical necessary.

Americans love to look good, but insurers are often reluctant to pay the bills to help us look better.
Last year we spent nearly $11 billion on cosmetic procedures, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Of the more than 10 million procedures performed, the most requested was breast augmentation.
But Cameo Wichinsky, a 42-year-old investment fund manager living in Santa Monica, wants to take her figure in the opposite direction.
Having long lived with the discomfort of breasts large enough to cause shoulder and neck pain and to limit her level of physical activity, she’s ready to go under the knife to reduce her breast size and, she hopes, improve her quality of life.

“I’m at the stage of my life when I’m ready to be active and be at my highest level. These things get in the way,” Wichinsky said.
Despite the fact that she has health insurance, she says she’ll have to shell out the nearly $9,000 for breast reduction surgery, which she has scheduled for November. Her insurer won’t cover the procedure.
“Insurance is a huge hassle,” Wichinsky said.
There was a time when health insurers more readily paid for breast reductions. We tend to think of breast reduction as reconstructive surgery and not cosmetic, even though it has that cosmetic aspect to it.
Plastic surgery is expensive. It’s important to know ahead of time what insurers will pay for.
The line between the desire for improved physical appearance and medical need can be fuzzy in the world of health insurance. Although few people expect to have their health plan pay for their tummy tucks or face lifts, there are procedures that legitimately warrant coverage.
The bottom line when it comes to an insurer’s decision to pay for a procedure is typically whether it’s considered medically necessary, experts say.
“Generally, if a procedure is necessary to repair or preserve the healthy functioning of the body, it’s likely to be medically necessary,” said Carrie McLean, senior manager of customer care with online insurance broker eHealthInsurance.com.
“If the procedure is typically considered standard practice for any given diagnosis, that may also meet the criterion for medically necessary,” she said.
Exactly where that line is drawn depends on the individual and his or her circumstances, not the procedure itself, said Patrick Johnston, president of the California Assn. of Health Plans, which represents 40 health plans insuring more than 21 million Californians.
For example, a middle-aged man interested in a tummy tuck to restore the six-pack of his youth isn’t likely to get much sympathy from his insurer, he said, but it’s a different story for someone who lost 150 pounds after bariatric surgery and is left with excess skin.

“This is a recognized standard of treatment for morbidly obese individuals,” Johnston said.
In the same way, he said, a nose job to correct a deviated septum or surgery to lift drooping eyelids that impair vision are other common surgeries likely to be covered by a health plan.
Consumers have a variety of legal protections that guarantee access to certain cosmetic procedures.
Women who have undergone a mastectomy after a diagnosis of cancer, for example, are guaranteed coverage for reconstructive surgery.
“Both federal and state laws guarantee a woman who has had a mastectomy as a result of breast cancer coverage for breast reconstruction,” Johnston said.
California law also requires insurers to cover the repair of a child’s cleft palate, which includes any medically necessary dental or orthodontic services that are an integral part of reconstructive surgery.
If you’re in the market for a cosmetic procedure, here are some important reminders.
• Check with your insurer in advance. In most cases you’re likely to need your insurer’s pre-authorization to obtain coverage.
It’s a good idea to work with your doctor. Submitting medical records, letters from specialists who have treated you for long-term symptoms and in some cases photos can all lend support for the medical necessity of the procedure and increase your chances of gaining approval.
• Pre-approval may not be enough. Breast reduction surgery such as what Wichinsky plans is a good example of the devil being in the details.
Most insurers dictate how many grams of tissue must be removed from each breast for the procedure to be covered. Asking in advance what those requirements are can help avoid surprise bills.
• You can appeal insurer decisions. Don’t be deterred if your insurer initially denies coverage. You frequently have to appeal the claim … to obtain insurance coverage.
This Information is brought to you courtesy of Dr. Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa

START THE FALL SEASON OFF AS YOU…ONLY BETTER!

If you’re considering invasive or minimally invasive cosmetic surgery this fall, getting it done during this time of year offers several benefits. There are often specials to take advantage of, and if you get your procedures done now you’ll be ready when next summer comes.
Timing cosmetic surgery procedures in the fall allows for plenty of recovery time so that once it’s swimsuit season you’re ready to show off the results of your liposuction or breast augmentation, as well as laser hair removal, and laser skin tightening. Dr. Mark Bishara offers cosmetic surgery for the breastbody and face, as well as a variety of non-surgical procedures, including robotic hair transplantsinjectables and laser procedures.
This time of year is also a great time to try the Laser 360 procedure.  You will have time to have 3 sessions done over the fall/winter and look great by spring and summer.  Laser360™ is a skin treatment for anyone who would like to revitalize their look without invasive procedures or injections. You no longer have to accept fine lines and wrinkles or skin discoloration as an inevitable part of the aging process.
Dr. Bishara and The Paragon Plastic Surgery & Med Spa are currently running several specials. Please call our office at (817) 473-2120 for more details.
We are offering August specials, that expire August 29.  Book now to take advantage of these specials.
Dermaplaning- Buy 2 get 1 FREE
Juvederm Voluma XC $725/syringe
Juvederm Voluma $499/syringe
Laser Skin Tightening- Buy 3 get 3 FREE


 

Are Your Breast Implants 10 years or older? You may need to exchange them.
We are offering a FREE Botox treatment for 2! If booking breast surgery with implants by August 31 and surgery completed by September 24. Please contact our office for more information at 817-473-2120.