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Breast reconstruction after cancer less common at cash-strapped hospitals
Women with breast cancer who have one or both breasts removed are less likely to get immediate reconstruction surgery at hospitals that are struggling financially, a U.S. study suggests.
Even so, the results underscore the importance of women seeing a plastic surgeon to make an informed decision about breast reconstruction, said Dr. Brigid Killelea, co-author of an accompanying editorial and chief of breast surgery at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
“I think it is important for patients to understand that getting a referral to a plastic surgeon to discuss reconstruction after mastectomy is standard and in most cases, encouraged; it’s not something extra or unnecessary,” Killelea said by email.
Patients shouldn’t feel limited in their treatment options by hospital finances,” Killelea added.
Source: Reuters