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For some women with breast cancer, removal of an entire breast is the best treatment. In some cases, such as when it appears that a person has a genetically increased risk of developing breast cancer, this is already done as a preventive measure.
There are several options for breast reconstruction after this treatment, if reconstruction is desired. Including the well-known breast implants, which are not possible in all cases and have not always proven to be safe. Or the use of skin and fatty tissue from the abdomen. But this treatment also has drawbacks. The operation takes a long time, about six to eight hours, and you end up with a scar on your abdomen.
This is how researchers from Maastricht UMC+ became interested in a third method: lipofilling. A plastic surgeon uses fat from, for example, the hip, thighs or abdomen and injects it into the chest.
This is already used to fill imperfections after previous reconstruction or for partial reconstructions, but has not yet been shown to be safe and effective for full breast reconstruction.
The research has now involved 91 patients who received reconstruction with their own fat tissue and 80 patients who received an implant. According to the researchers, there was no evidence that treatment with their own fat tissue was dangerous and this group reported a better quality of life after the operation.
The National Institute of Health has now decided that care will be reimbursed from January 1, 2023 – subject to conditions.
Read more: New breast reconstruction method after Maastricht UMC+ research
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