Breast Reconstruction in Sarasota, FL
Rebuild After Cancer With a Surgeon Who Understands You
Breast reconstruction after mastectomy rebuilds the shape of a breast that cancer surgery removed or changed. It isn't a single operation. For most women it's a staged process that unfolds over a year or two, and Dr. Shulman stays with her patients through all of it.
This is where her career began, and it remains the part of her practice she cares most about. It's also the one area where health insurance applies, which surprises many patients who assume anything performed by a plastic surgeon is out of pocket.
Dr. Alissa Shulman has been a board-certified plastic surgeon since 2002 and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (F.A.C.S.). She has practiced since 2000 and has been in Sarasota since 2009. Her office sits next door to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and she works alongside the breast surgeons and oncologists already treating you. Request an appointment whenever you're ready, including before your cancer surgery.
Reconstruction After Breast Cancer
Understand the Path From Diagnosis to Rebuilt Shape
Post-breast cancer reconstruction covers the whole arc, including how reconstruction fits around chemotherapy and radiation, when to start, and how the decisions connect to the rest of your treatment. If you've just been diagnosed and don't yet know what you want, that's the place to begin.
Rebuilding After Breast Removal
Choose How to Restore a Breast After Mastectomy
When the whole breast is removed, post-mastectomy reconstruction rebuilds it, using an implant, your own fat, or a combination. Timing matters too, since reconstruction can begin during your cancer surgery or wait until treatment is finished. Dr. Shulman will explain which route suits your body and your treatment plan.
Preserving the Nipple and Skin
Keep More of Your Own Breast Where It's Safe To
In selected cases the breast skin and nipple can be preserved while the tissue underneath is removed. Nipple-sparing mastectomy reconstruction tends to produce the most natural-looking result. Dr. Shulman co-manages these cases with a general breast surgeon, with the cancer operation and the reconstruction planned together rather than separately.
Rebuilding Without an Implant
Use Your Own Fat to Restore Shape and Softness
Fat grafting reconstruction rebuilds the breast in stages using fat taken from your own abdomen or thighs. Dr. Shulman has performed it since 2013 and was the first surgeon in Sarasota to offer it. It's a genuine option for women who don't want a device, or who can't have one because radiation has changed the tissue. It takes more sessions than an implant but leaves nothing artificial behind.
What Insurance Has to Cover
Know Your Rights Under Federal Law
The Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) of 1998 is a federal law requiring most group health plans that cover mastectomy to also cover breast reconstruction. That includes all stages of rebuilding the affected breast, surgery on the other breast to make the two match, breast prostheses, and treatment of complications such as lymphedema, which is fluid buildup in the arm or chest. Deductibles and coinsurance can apply, but they can't be higher than for other surgery under your plan. You can read the official summary from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on WHCRA protections. Reconstruction is the one part of this practice where we bill insurance.
Working With Your Cancer Team
Coordinate Care With the Doctors You Already Have
Reconstruction doesn't happen in isolation. Dr. Shulman's office is next door to Sarasota Memorial Hospital, and she coordinates directly with your breast surgeon and oncologist so the plan accounts for your chemotherapy and radiation schedule. You don't have to be the one relaying messages between offices.