If you’re planning a single-side mastectomy and breast reconstruction, you probably have plenty of questions about and how your surgeon will make sure your results “match.” You expect your breast reconstruction surgery to restore your shape and some of your self-confidence after your mastectomy, so it only makes sense that your results should look as natural as possible.

Most of the time I will be able to recognize from the beginning when a patient will need to have the other breast lifted or reduced so that both breasts match each other as well as possible, but sometimes I won’t know for sure until she has healed. Here are a few of the most common reasons why you may need follow-up surgery:

• Larger, saggier breasts: Women with very large breasts will often need to have their natural breast reduced. I am able to get very good results matching even larger breasts during breast reconstruction surgery in New York. Sometimes thinner women with larger breasts pose a particularly challenging case, and I may recommend a reduction or a lift with reduction to ensure balance following their procedures.
• Small or unevenly positioned breasts: Many women are happy with a reconstruction procedure that matches a smaller breast, but some will choose their reconstruction as an opportunity to fill out their breast volume on both sides. I have found that the results are usually much better when the patient receives the breast augmentation at the same time as her breast reconstruction on Long Island, New York.
• Downward-pointing nipples: Unless you received a nipple-sparing mastectomy, your initial surgery probably left you without either nipples or areolas on that breast. I can place the reconstructed nipple and areola at any position, but in most cases patients will want some lift to give both breasts a more shapely and perky appearance.