Histórico do direito ao acesso à reconstrução mamária no Brasil

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the history of the access to breast reconstructionafter mastectomy in Brazil. Breast cancer treatment has shown importantevolution over the last 50 years, and in addition to the improvement of thedisease’s prognosis, there has also been attention to the importance ofreconstructive surgeries after breast cancer treatment, which can lead tomutilation and make difficult acceptance of the disease by the patients.With the emergence of laws that guarantee access both in the PublicHealth Care System in Brazil and by health insurance plans, patients withbreast cancer with indications for mastectomy and withoutcontraindications to breast reconstruction have access to this surgery inBrazil, reducing the negative impact of the disease on female body imageand the psychosocial consequences related to mastectomy. However,there are still some challenges in achieving these surgeries, since, to becarried out, they require a set of variables, such as a team of trainedmastologists and plastic surgeons, as well as access to materials such asimplants and expanders.