ABSTRACT

It has become evident that breast cancer; the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women; can be prevented in some cases due to the increasing social awareness, BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutation analysis and developing risk reduction strategies. Prophylactic mastectomy, which happens to be one of those strategies, is found to reduce the risk of cancer development by 85-90 % in high-risk patients. Analysis of the genes leaves the surgeons with a population at an early age that gives importance to the integrity of the body image and demands breast reconstruction as soon as possible. However; breast reconstruction after prophylactic mastectomy bears some distinct features. For this reason, a multidisciplinary approach should be followed and the timing of surgical procedure, type of mastectomy to be applied, reconstruction options for each patient, possible complications should be discussed in details before the surgery. This study defines the differences and the importance of reconstruction after prophylactic mastectomy.