{"id":18044,"date":"2014-02-24T23:14:08","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T04:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=18044"},"modified":"2019-08-12T14:53:19","modified_gmt":"2019-08-12T19:53:19","slug":"what-about-breast-implants-before-heart-surgery-asks-dorata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2014\/02\/24\/what-about-breast-implants-before-heart-surgery-asks-dorata\/","title":{"rendered":"“What About Breast Implants Before Heart Surgery?” Asks Dorata"},"content":{"rendered":"

I received an interesting question from Dorata about breast implants, echocardiograms and minimally invasive heart valve surgery. In her email, Dorata writes, “Hi Adam, I’m expecting a mitral valve repair surgery<\/a> in a few years. I’m considering having breast implants now. I am wondering if breast implants interfere with the echocardiographic examination and minimally invasive surgeries?”<\/p>\n

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To help Dorata answer this question, I contacted Dr. Allan Stewart. So you know, Dr. Stewart has successfully treated many patients in our community as you can see by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In his response to Dorata’s question, Dr. Stewart noted the following:<\/p>\n

Breast implants have the potential to alter the approach of heart valve surgery. It is important to tell your surgeon about implants during the pre-operative consultation so damage does not occur.\u00a0 Depending on the type and size of the implant, a heart surgeon may decide to involve a plastic surgeon in the procedure.<\/p>\n

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\"Dr.<\/p>\n

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In my practice, I will still proceed with minimally invasive surgery, but will involve a plastic surgeon to care for the implant. Specifically, I mean that the implant is temporarily removed at the start of the procedure and placed in a sterile container. The heart surgery procedure will be performed as planned. Once I am satisfied that the procedure was successful, the chest is closed and the breast implant is replaced. The presence of breast implants should not eliminate the possibility for a minimally invasive procedure on the heart.<\/p>\n

I hope this helped Dorata (and perhaps you) learn more about breast implants and heart surgery. Many thanks to Dorata for her question and a special thanks to Dr. Stewart for sharing his clinical expertise with our community.<\/p>\n