Breast Reconstruction Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a breast reconstruction, your doctor will review a list of possible complications which may include:

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Abnormal scarring
• Painful and/or restricted arm and shoulder motion
• Uneven appearance of breasts, due either to position or size
• Implant may harden, rupture, or leak
• Implant may make cancer detection (through mammogram and/or self-exam) more difficult
• Newly reconstructed breast will not have nerve sensation

Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Obesity
• Smoking
• Bleeding disorder
• Malnutrition
• Chronic illness or debilitation (eg, heart disease, lung disease)
• Prior radiation therapy to the chest wall (which may make healing more difficult)
• Chemotherapy

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection including fever and chills

• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge at the incision site

• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given

• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medicines you were given after surgery, or which persist for more than two days after discharge from the hospital

• Implants grow hard or you believe that they are leaking

• Joint pain, fatigue, stiffness, rash, or other new symptoms

• Pain and/or swelling in your feet, calves, or legs, sudden shortness of breath or chest pain

In case of an emergency, call 911.