Hi,
This is my first post and first time reaching out for advice from anyone other than the doctors/nurses etc.
I was diagnosed with Triple-Positive Invasive Breast Cancer Jan 2021 aged 29. I had chemo, lumpectomy and radiotherapy, and I am now on the Herceptin injections and Tamoxifen.
I thought all was well and this cancer business was starting to be something I could put behind me; that is until I had my first mammogram in May followed by biopsies that confirmed the cancer was back for round 2 as DCIS in the same breast.
I knew that it’d be a mastectomy this time and had prepared for that with reconstruction, however what I was not prepared for was my surgeon telling me that generally you can’t have implants following radiotherapy because of issues it can cause, including encapsulation, so it should be autologous reconstruction.
For many reasons I want to try and avoid the autologous route and consider an implant as a possibility, so my question is this…
Has anyone on here got experience of having implants fitted into a breast that has already received radiotherapy?
I want to know all the good, the bad and the ugly stories to help me make an informed decision. I’ve tried to do some reading and look at some research studies into this but available information is scarce, any advice or guidance is much appreciated.
Thanks and sending you all love and luck for your own journeys
X
I have implants as of last year, and have had radiotherapy before - but, possibly the 30-year gap between the two makes the difference? No issues for me. Hopefully someone with more recent experience can be more helpful!
I have been told the same thing about implants. I will say that I know someone who tried it after radiation and it wasn’t successful. Ended up having the implant taken out. Not sure if she tried it again or not. Yet here is a quote I found from MD Anderson which is a top hospital here in the US. “Although women should be aware of these increased risks, implant-based breast reconstruction after radiation therapy is still successful in most cases, according to the paper by ASPS Member Surgeon Dr. Steven J. Kronowitz of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.” It also went on to list the below statistics.
"In one of the largest studies performed to date, the risk of major complications was about 45 percent for women receiving implants with radiation therapy, compared to 24 percent in patients not exposed to radiation. Complications were more common when radiation was given before versus after implant-based reconstruction: 64 versus 58 percent.
The highest-quality study found that, among women undergoing implant reconstruction, patient satisfaction scores were lower for those receiving radiation therapy. Another study reported that women receiving implants after radiation therapy were more likely to need major corrective surgery."