الفهرس 
Anatomy of the Female BreastOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
The breast is an important symbol of femininity. It plays an important role in woman’s life functionally, psychologically and emotionally.
Breast cancer is the commonest malignancy in women and the second leading cause of cancer mortality, Current data suggests that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
Breast cancer poses a dual threat to women attacking their lives as well as their femininity. As the incidence of breast cancer continues to rise among women of all ages, the need for early detection becomes more pressing. A key to reducing the mortality from this disease is educating women that cure without permanent breast loss is possible if their cancer is diagnosed early. Mammography and breast examination are the cornerstones of breast cancer screening and early detection.
The surgical treatment of breast cancer involves either breast conserving surgery or mastectomy, both of which can result in considerable asymmetry of the breasts. Breast reconstruction offers restoration of breast symmetry to such women, achieved by creating a breast mound that is similar in size, shape, contour, and position to the opposite breast. Women thus gain the freedom to wear a variety of clothing, without needing external breast prostheses, and have been shown to improve the psychosocial well-being and quality of life in comparison with those who have mastectomy without reconstruction.
Breast reconstruction can be performed immediatly after mastectomy or can be delayed several months. The optimal time for reconstruction depends on the stage of breast cancer, the need for adjuvant therapy and the method of reconstruction.
There are two major classes of postmastectomy reconstruction: implant based reconstruction and autologous tissue based reconstruction. Key to achieving the optimal aesthetic outcome is patient procedure selection. There are number of factors that can affect this decision. These include location of cancer and extent of resection, medical and surgical risk factors of the patient, need for adjuvant radiotherapy, availability of local and distant donor tissue, desired size and shape of the reconstructed breast, and most importantly patient preference. Individualized selection of a reconstructive technique for each patient is a predominant factor in achieving successful reconstruction.
Recent advances include new techniques in microsurgical reconstruction and refinement of skin sparing mastectomy techniques to provide completely natural reconstructions with minimal scarring.
One recent advancement in autologous breast reconstruction is the microsurgical perforator flap technique in which only skin and fat are harvested to recreate a natural-looking breast without disrupting the underlying muscle. Studies have shown that microsurgical breast reconstructions offer a more natural and durable reconstruction and minimize morbidity.
Perforator flap is a type of free flap in which only skin and fat perfused by transmuscular perforators is transferred from the donor site without muscle sacrifice. This technique is a refinement of the conventional myocutaneous free flap in which the perforators are carefully dissected out as they course through the muscle, yielding skin and fat only flaps from various anatomical sites & so reduce donor site morbidity.