Breast reconstruction patients will now receive more information about the treatments that are available and how these treatments can be financed, thanks to a new law signed by NY Gov. David Paterson.
The law is intended to ensure that poor or disadvantaged women are informed about their various options in breast reconstruction. Such options include health insurance coverage and a wide variety of surgical techniques that can reconstruct the breasts to restore a normal appearance.
An unfortunate reality is that many patients don’t undergo breast reconstruction because they’re not aware that the procedure has universal health insurance. Doctors pushed for the new law so that a discussion of breast reconstruction options would be required, thus increasing the number of patients undergoing the surgery.
There seems to be a stark contrast in resources between breast reconstruction patients of different backgrounds. Evidently, some are making decisions about treatment with a relative lack of information, while others are independently seeking out advanced microsurgical procedures. According to a recent study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, a growing number of breast cancer patients are using the Internet to find a reconstructive surgeon on their own, and many are choosing advanced microsurgical breast reconstruction procedures.
Tags: breast reconstruction