Summary
Some patients choose not to restore breast contour after mastectomy. Those individuals still have options to improve the way their chest wall looks after surgery. Mastectomy closure is not typically approached aesthetically. This means that it often leaves excess skin and tissue behind, which results in irregular chest contour. Aesthetic flat closure removes or rearranges that excess skin and tissue to create a smooth, even chest wall contour.
Aesthetic flat closure on one side
Aesthetic flat closure on both sides
Types of Aesthetic Flat Closure Procedures
Immediate Aesthetic Flat Closure
Delayed Aesthetic Flat Closure
Aesthetic Flat Closure After Prior Reconstruction
Procedure details:
- During surgical planning, a surgeon considers scar positioning based on whether the patient is considering tattooing to cover the scar
- A plastic surgeon marks excess skin before surgery
- During surgery, incisions may be extended along the side of the chest to adequately contour underarm skin and tissue
- A surgeon saves or repositions excess skin to correct contour irregularities as needed
- In some cases, simultaneous or second-stage fat grafting further smooths the chest wall
Risks & Benefits
Patients with larger breasts should be aware of the fact that they will have longer scars. It is also important to know that aesthetic flat closure is not the expectation of a mastectomy without breast reconstruction. It’s essential to explain the flat closure you would like by sharing goals and expectations with your surgical teams.
Most patients recover from this procedure well, satisfied with the smooth, even, flat chest contour it provides.