Reconstruction DURING Lumpectomy

Welcome @stephthompson, Fellow members @amy11559 @lexalaska @danielad have posted about immediate reconstruction.
A number of factors influence the timing of your reconstruction. Is immediate reconstruction an option for you?

In my case, if I choose to do the lumpectomy, then reconstruction would happen after they get cleaned margins.

Hello @polianad22. I had wondered the same thing when I had a lumpectomy. I didn’t want to undergo two surgeries and wanted the lumpectomy and lift/reduction done at the same time. I was told they wanted clean margins before plastics went in. I’m glad they didn’t do both at once because I didn’t have clean margins and who knows where the remaining cancer cells would have gone. I hope this helps and I wish you well!

How many lumpectomy did you have? Was it hard ?

@polianad22 I had one lumpectomy and I wasn’t going to do reconstruction because I didn’t want two surgeries. When I found out the margins weren’t clear, I decided to have the lift/reduction the same time the surgeon removed the remaining margins.

My intention is the same.

How do you know that the margins are clean at the second lumpectomy? Don't you have to wait till the results come back from the pathology for the margins?

I believe some hospitals have a pathologist on standby so the surgeon will know if clean margins are achieved.

Yes, it's called frozen section. My understanding is that are not always reliable and some hospitals don't do it during the surgery. Where did you do the lumpectomy? How big was your tumor and what type of cancer did you have?

@polianad22 I’m not sure how they knew they got clean margins the second time around. When pathology came back, it showed clear margins, but I had the lift/reduction already. I know my surgical oncologist took VERY wide margins to help with getting all the cancer cells. I go for monitoring/imaging every three months, so if any cancer was left, it will get caught early.