Recovery and Renewal

From diagnosis to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, the long road to recovery after breast cancer treatment can be harrowing. 

But women who have endured breast cancer treatment often find better mental health and a sense of renewal after breast reconstruction, says Dr. Sofie Schlagintweit, Langley Memorial's new plastic surgeon. 

Many of her patients tell her patients tell her the procedure is like a milestone in their health progress, empowering them with the confidence they need for a new beginning of health and activity in their lives. 

"Usually, my patients tell me that [prolonged cancer treatment] is the darkest time of their lives when, over a year, they've had chemo, radiation, and surgery. They went from being high functioning people with jobs and taking care of their families to being sick," says Dr. Schlagintweit, whose practice in Langley operates under the name Fraser Valley Plastic Surgery. 

"There's a lot of data that shows that people generally feel like they have a better quality of life after they've had breast reconstruction, and that it kind of makes them whole again," she says. In January, Dr. Schlagintweit performed Langley Memorial's first ever immediate mastectomy-reconstruction (or a reconstruction directly after a mastectomy). 

However, the equipment needed to provide the breast reconstruction surgery from beginning to the end of the process is specialized to plastic surgery and at this time, not available at Langley Memorial. 

An implant-based breast reconstruction involves multiple stages, beginning with the expansion of tissue in preparation for final implants. Surgeons require specialized equipment to achieve more predictable results and a liposuction machine along with fat grafting equipment are necessary to provide reconstructive options to improve results. Adding fat helps create symmetry, treat scarring, and correct other changes to the breast caused by radiation and original breast surgeries.

A Homecoming

Dr. Schlagintweit's recent arrival at Langley Memorial was a sort of homecoming. An elite volleyball player raised in Abbotsford, she played for Arizona State University and on Canada's national volleyball team. After being sidelined by injury, she went on to study medicine at the University of Toronto, following up with a residency at UBC.

"Plastic surgery is the best surgical field as far as I'm concerned because I get to operate on every area of the body and do a wide range of procedures," she says.

After her intense training, fond childhood memories brought her and her family back to the Fraser Valley to open a community-based practice and join Langley Memorial Hospital early this year. 

Since Langley Memorial is not tied to BC Cancer, most mastectomy-reconstructions are performed in Abbotsford or Surrey. But with the arrival of Dr. Schlagintweit - and with the potential of donor support for the essential equipment - breast cancer patients could be one step closer to getting the procedure close to home, at LMH.

Dr. Schlagintweit says it's fulfilling to see the physical and psychological changes in her patients after their reconstructive process.

"These women have gone through something terrible, and now they're done. They can feel confident again, and they can get on with their lives. And so many of them have a new outlook: 'I'm going to make the best of the situations that I have, I'm going to live every day of my life.'

"It's lovely to see how their perspective changes."