Breast reconstruction interventions are addressed to women who have undergone surgery for uni- or bilateral mastectomy. They can be performed with a mastectomy or after a period of time (always after radiotherapy or chemotherapy in cases where they are needed).

Reconstruction methods are flap, breast implants or combined (using both implant and flap).

The implant method is similar to breast augmentation surgery and is aimed at patients who have enough skin left and pectoralis muscle in the operated area to cover the implant. This method does not have the best results from an aesthetic point of view, especially in cases where the areola and nipple have not been preserved (they can be rebuilt if they are missing). Sometimes it is necessary to intervene on the healthy breast, its lifting and eventual reduction, in order to obtain breasts as symmetrical as possible (perfect symmetry is impossible to obtain).

If the skin is not sufficient in quantity, but is qualitatively good, it can be expanded (stretched) by the operative introduction of a subcutaneous "balloon", which is progressively swollen with saline, thus forming the space in which it will be introduced, in a second operation, silicone breast implant. The disadvantage of the two operations can be avoided by using special implants that are partially filled with silicone gel, the rest of the volume being progressively filled by post-operative injection with saline.

The flap method is addressed to patients who have insufficient and poor quality skin in the operated area. This involves using a muscle for breast reconstruction along with the fat and skin that covers it, usually from the abdomen or back. It has the disadvantages that it causes a certain "disability" by harvesting this muscle, it produces a new scar, but the appearance of the breast thus reconstructed is usually superior to the reconstruction with the implant. The advantage is also financial, it does not impose costs for the implant and expander.