About one out of every eight women will develop some form of
breast cancer within their lifetime. In 2010 approximately
207,000 cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed, with
another 54,000 non-invasive cases diagnosed. Although breast
reconstruction is an optional process after mastectomy, with
over 2.5 women who have beat this disease, more and more women
are choosing to have breast reconstruction as a part of breast
cancer treatment. In fact, over 93,000 breast reconstruction
procedures were performed in 2010, an increase of almost 20%
from the year before (1). In fact, breast reconstruction has
been seen as being so critical to a woman's recovery that in
1988, the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act (WHCRA) was
passed. This law actually requires all insurance companies who
offer mastectomy coverage to also provide for reconstructive
surgery, including any adjustments to the opposite breast to
achieve symmetry and revision surgeries to refine the breast
shape and recreate the nipple. For most women,