My docs agree, let's try the Goldilocks Mastectomy. In my opinion, it is an excellent option for me, and probably for lots of other women in a similar situation. I don't care about having breasts that stick out, but I am also not keen on the unnatural look of the completely flat look with horizontal scars after a normal mastectomy. So maybe the Goldilocks approach is just right for me.
The rest of this post is my initial post about the Goldilocks Mastectomy. If you are interested in how I made out with the post-op recovery, check out my list of follow-up blogs.
Wondering what it is?
Check out the web page http://goldilocksmastectomy.com/
Note that there are links to a powerpoint presentation and more info at the bottom of that web site.
How did I find out about it?
I couldn't believe that there hadn't been any significant research in how to do a mastectomy in such a way as to leave behind something better looking than a flat (or concave) chest with scars going straight across. Just because a woman is not interested in standard breast reconstruction techniques doesn't mean she is indifferent to how the chest looks after surgery.
So, I started to read some books on breast surgery from the McGill University Library, which turns out to be very easy to do in this age of e-books. If you are from McGill or any institution with access to these books, you should be able to access them from your network, or use your VPN and then access them. I found many books, but I really liked the following book, with the most recent edition in 2014. The link to the publishers page is
https://www.elsevier.com/books/breast-surgery-print-and-e-book/dixon/978-0-7020-4959-0
The rest of this post is my initial post about the Goldilocks Mastectomy. If you are interested in how I made out with the post-op recovery, check out my list of follow-up blogs.
Wondering what it is?
Check out the web page http://goldilocksmastectomy.com/
Note that there are links to a powerpoint presentation and more info at the bottom of that web site.
How did I find out about it?
I couldn't believe that there hadn't been any significant research in how to do a mastectomy in such a way as to leave behind something better looking than a flat (or concave) chest with scars going straight across. Just because a woman is not interested in standard breast reconstruction techniques doesn't mean she is indifferent to how the chest looks after surgery.
So, I started to read some books on breast surgery from the McGill University Library, which turns out to be very easy to do in this age of e-books. If you are from McGill or any institution with access to these books, you should be able to access them from your network, or use your VPN and then access them. I found many books, but I really liked the following book, with the most recent edition in 2014. The link to the publishers page is
https://www.elsevier.com/books/breast-surgery-print-and-e-book/dixon/978-0-7020-4959-0
Breast Surgery, |
The Research
In the book, the author for the mastectomy chapter pointed out various techniques for making a better looking mastectomy scar, and then ends the chapter with a short description of the "Goldilocks Mastectomy", along with some pictures. This was exactly what I was looking for, so I looked up the paper cited in the book, and then looked for any subsequent papers referring to that original paper. I could only find two papers, the orginal one, and and then a subsequent paper from Japan. Here are the links to those two papers, if you want to read more.
[1] The Goldilocks Mastectomy, Heather Richardson and Grace Ma, International Journal of Surgery (London, England), January 2012 (Volume 10, Issue 9).
[2] Goldilocks mastectomy for obese Japanese females with breast ptosis. T. Ogawa, Asian Journal of Surgery, August 2013.
The Pitch
So, once I had found out about this procedure, how to get it done? I put together a powerpoint presentation, and first showed it to my GP, who agreed that it looked promising, and then I showed it to my surgeon, who thought about it for a while, and has decided to give it a try. Fingers crossed that it works out well! I am sure he can do a good job.
In the book, the author for the mastectomy chapter pointed out various techniques for making a better looking mastectomy scar, and then ends the chapter with a short description of the "Goldilocks Mastectomy", along with some pictures. This was exactly what I was looking for, so I looked up the paper cited in the book, and then looked for any subsequent papers referring to that original paper. I could only find two papers, the orginal one, and and then a subsequent paper from Japan. Here are the links to those two papers, if you want to read more.
[1] The Goldilocks Mastectomy, Heather Richardson and Grace Ma, International Journal of Surgery (London, England), January 2012 (Volume 10, Issue 9).
[2] Goldilocks mastectomy for obese Japanese females with breast ptosis. T. Ogawa, Asian Journal of Surgery, August 2013.
The Pitch
So, once I had found out about this procedure, how to get it done? I put together a powerpoint presentation, and first showed it to my GP, who agreed that it looked promising, and then I showed it to my surgeon, who thought about it for a while, and has decided to give it a try. Fingers crossed that it works out well! I am sure he can do a good job.