General surgeon Dr. Elijah Mobley provides general surgery for the residents of Apple Valley, Glendora, San Dimas, and the surrounding areas of Los Angeles County.
When Dr. Elijah Mobley consults with women who have breast cancer, he explains the two main options for women who are trying to decide if reconstructive breast surgery is right for them after a mastectomy. These are those options: what type of surgery to have and when to have the surgery. Plus, it is extremely important to any general surgeon that the patient is a good candidate for reconstructive breast surgery.
What Makes a Good Candidate for Reconstructive Breast Surgery?
While a woman may be able to have the reconstructive breast surgery, it may be delayed for the following reasons:
- Receiving chemotherapy treatments
- Radiation treatments
- If the immune system is not yet strong enough after the cancer treatments to fight off a possible infection
- If the woman has other health issues that make her a poor candidate for surgery such as, cancer in another location
Once the mastectomy has been done, once any cancer treatments are completed, and once the breast cancer is in remission, Dr. Elijah Mobley may suggest that the following things may also influence the patient’s chances of being a good candidate for reconstructive breast surgery:
- If the patient is extremely overweight, she automatically becomes a higher risk for surgery and the end results may not be what she expected. Therefore, the general surgeon make request that the woman lose weight.
- If the woman smokes, she needs to quit to increase her candidacy. It has been proven time and time again that smokers heal at a much slower rate than non-smokers, and the slower the healing process the more chance for complications.
