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| Forum | Questions | Ask a Question | |
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Mastectomy with Tissue Expander Questions about Mastectomy with Tissue Expander. |
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| 8/4/2011 | Hello, My mother recently had a mastectomy on her left breast with a tissue expander placed. I believe alloderm was used in the placement. At a follow up appointment yesterday, her plastic surgeon noted that there was dead skin (I'm not sure where, I'm hearing all this by phone). Her surgeons want to remove the tissue expander rather than try to debride the dead skin because they want to do chemotherapy as soon as possible. Is this the standard procedure or are there alternatives? Thank you. | ||
| Replied | JHU's Breast Center Reply | ||
| 8/4/2011 | Thank you for turning to the Johns Hopkins Breast Center with your questions. Yes this is an expected treatment. If the tissue expander is replaced and the problem reoccurs, then there is another surgery which delays chemotherapy even further. Also, if she is having trouble with the tissue expander now, it is more likely to continue and worsen with chemotherapy since her immune system will be suppressed during the chemotherapy. Hope this helps, and best wishes. | ||
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