About the episode
For some women with breast cancer, removal of an entire breast is the best treatment. In some cases, such as when it appears that someone has a genetically increased risk of developing breast cancer, this is already done preventively.
There are several options for reconstruction of the breast after this treatment, if that 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 fat tissue from the abdomen. But this treatment also has disadvantages. The operation takes a long time, about six to eight hours, and it leaves a scar on your abdomen.
And so researchers at Maastricht UMC+ were curious about 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 for filling imperfections after a previous reconstruction or for partial reconstructions, but it had not yet been shown to be safe and effective for full breast reconstruction.
Research has now looked at 91 patients who received a reconstruction with their own fat tissue and 80 patients who received an implant. According to the researchers, there were no indications that treatment with their own fat tissue was unsafe and this group reported a higher quality of life after the operation.
The National Health Care Institute has now decided that the treatment will be reimbursed from 1 January 2023 – subject to conditions.
Read more: New method for breast reconstruction after Maastricht UMC+ study