Joel A. Aronowitz, M.D., founder of the Breast Preservation Foundation
and Division Clinical Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, recently led a group in Washington, D.C.,
to educate legislators and healthcare policy staff about the
under-utilization of skin sparing mastectomy procedures in the U.S.
Meetings were held with Congressional leaders from both parties,
including Rep. Jane Harman, D-CA, and Rep. Eric Cantor, R-VA. Members of
the delegation were invited to attend the State of the Union speech in
recognition of the efforts of the Breast Preservation Foundation in the
fight against breast cancer.
A skin-sparing mastectomy, also known as breast-conserving surgery, is a
way to treat cancer and save the breast skin. In so doing it causes much
less scarring than a traditional mastectomy. The skin-sparing procedure
removes cancerous breast tissue through a small incision usually around
the areola area of the nipple. The surgeon leaves most of the breast
skin, creating a natural skin envelope, or pocket, that is filled with a
breast implant or with the patient’s own tissue from another part of her
body. The skin-sparing technique significantly improves the cosmetic
outcome and gives the best option for reconstruction.
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