Women considering breast surgery should also think about having a mammogram (X-ray of the breast) before and after the procedure.

Preoperative mammogram

It makes sense to consider a mammogram before the operation in order to rule out the possibility of existing malignancies and to establish an up-to-date baseline mammogram. This is useful for comparison with future mammograms.

Why do I need a mammogram after breast surgery?

Any operation performed on breasts may produce postoperative calcifications which could hinder detection of breast cancer by a mammogram.

Mammograms work by revealing tiny white specks (calcifications) within the breast tissue. The presence of the calcifications from the operation can confuse the results. This is why it is important to compare mammograms done before and six months after breast reduction. This enables the detection of any new calcifications caused by the breast surgery.

The calcifications caused by surgery usually have a different appearance from those from cancer. It is still important to go through this checking process so that calcifications from the breast reduction process are not confused with cancer.

Calcifications are quite unusual following breast reduction by tumescent liposuction; is more of an issue with the traditional surgical-excision process. But it makes sense to have the checks all the same.