Reconstructive Surgery with Our Plastic Surgeon for Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester Area Patients

For patients in Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, our plastic surgeon team offers a variety of reconstructive procedures, including:

• Breast Reconstruction
• Breast Reduction
• Male Breast Reduction
• Scar Removal and Revision
• Skin Cancer Treatment

Breast Reconstruction

The loss of a breast, usually due to mastectomy or lumpectomy surgery, can be traumatic, causing a woman to feel self-conscious about her appearance. At our cosmetic surgery practice in Rochester, near Buffalo and Syracuse, each plastic surgeon at our practice is adept at using the latest techniques and technology to help a woman restore her appearance and self-confidence. With advanced breast reconstruction technology, we can construct a breast that is very similar in appearance to a natural breast.

Breast reconstruction is a complex operation, with many different options to consider. At your consultation at our offices, conveniently located in Rochester, near Buffalo and Syracuse, your plastic surgeon will help you explore which options best suit your particular circumstances.

Breast Reconstruction Surgery

The Plastic Surgery Group of Rochester offers a variety of breast reconstruction procedures to our patients in the Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse area. A plastic surgeon at our practice will help you decide which of the following would be best suited to your needs:

• Breast implants

  are essentially flexible silicone shells filled either with "saline," a salt-water solution, or with silicone. Currently, due to safety concerns, only saline-filled implants are approved by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Breast implants are usually combined with skin expansion or flap surgery to reconstruct a breast.

• Skin expansion

  , which provides a pocket of skin for a breast implant, can be performed at our locations in Rochester, near Buffalo and Syracuse. Your plastic surgeon will surgically implant a balloon expander underneath the skin and muscle of your chest. Over the course of several weeks to several months, your plastic surgeon will slowly fill the balloon with a salt-water solution. Once an appropriately sized pocket of skin is created, an operation will be performed to remove the balloon and replace it with a breast implant. The process is finally completed by another procedure that reconstructs the nipple and the areola.

• Flap reconstruction

  is an alternative to breast reconstruction procedures using skin expansion and a breast implant. The breast is reconstructed using a skin flap made of tissue from other areas of the body. A skin flap is frequently taken from the back, abdomen, or buttocks. There are a number of ways a plastic surgeon can reconstruct a breast using a skin flap. In one method, the flap is tunneled beneath skin to the location where the breast is being reconstructed, remaining attached to its original site. The fat, skin, and muscle of the flap are often enough to create the entire breast mound, though the plastic surgeon may elect to add an implant, if necessary. In another method of flap reconstruction surgery, tissue is entirely separated from its initial location, usually on the abdomen, thighs, or buttocks, and is then re-attached to blood vessels at its new site.

• Medical tattooing

  can be used to aid in the coloring of a reconstructed nipple and areola.

• Follow-up procedures

  are often necessary after a breast reconstruction operation. Breast reconstruction operations are frequently complex, involving a progression of procedures that are performed over a period of time, though the first operation is usually the longest and most involved. Follow-up surgery may be necessary at our location in the Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse area so your plastic surgeon can, for example, replace a balloon expander with a breast implant or reconstruct the nipple.

Contact our board-certified plastic surgeons serving Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse if you have questions about breast reconstruction or would like to schedule a consultation.

Featured Breast Reconstruction Patients

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Scar Removal and Revision

There is no formula for determining whether a scar will be severe or mild, or how well a scar will respond to treatment. Many factors affect the way a scar develops, including the type of wound, its direction, the supply of blood to the area, the thickness and color of your skin, and the particulars of how the wound heals.

While no scar can be removed completely, our Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse area plastic surgeons can make a scar less noticeable using a variety of techniques. There are many different types of scars, and different treatments, from steroid medications to surgical procedures, that can be highly effective.

Scar Types

• Keloid Scars

  are thick masses of scar tissue that grow up outside the original boundaries of a wound. They are frequently itchy and tend to be darker compared to the skin around them.

• Hypertrophic Scars

  are also thick, red, and raised Unlike keloids, they remain within the original area of the wound. Hypertrophic scars may improve without medical assistance, though this can take a year or more. Steroid applications or injections can help heal hypertrophic scars.

• Contractures

  occur when skin is burned, or in other situations where large areas of skin are lost. The loss of a large area of skin may result in a scar that pulls the edges of the skin together, a process called contraction. The resulting contracture may affect the adjacent muscles and tendons, restricting normal movement. A plastic surgeon may correct a contracture by cutting out the scar and replacing it with a skin graft or a flap.

Scar Treatments

• Steroid injections

  can boost the body's natural healing processes, helping to heal scars such as keloids and hypertrophic scars.

• Z-Plasty

  is a minor surgical procedure used to realign a scar so that it sits more in line with natural creases in the skin, thereby making it less noticeable. It can also ease some of the tension that results from contracture scars.

• Skin Grafting and Flap Surgery

  are very useful for improving the function of a scarred area, particularly large scars such as contractures. A skin graft transfers healthy skin from its original site (the donor site) to an area that has been injured. Skin grafts and flaps involve more serious operations than other forms of scar revision. They are most often performed under general anesthesia as an inpatient procedure in a hospital.

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Skin Cancer Treatment

Every year, more than 500,000 new cases of skin cancer are reported in the United States. It is the most frequently diagnosed form of cancer, and the numbers are increasing. Skin cancers take many different forms, but generally they appear as growths and discoloration on the skin, most often the skin of the face, head, and neck.

Our Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse area plastic surgeon team have the medical training necessary to properly diagnose the various kinds of skin cancer growths, and can surgically remove the growth while maintaining a high level of function and a pleasing appearance, particularly important when the cancer is on the face or another highly visible spot. Most removals are performed in the physician's office with local anesthetic.

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To learn more about the reconstructive surgery treatments available to Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester patients, schedule a consultation with a plastic surgeon at our practice.