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What type of follow-up care and rehabilitation is needed after breast reconstruction?
Source: Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: December 2, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
NCI patient treatment article for this disease Exact source article; not a clinically reviewed indication or current-standard recommendation.
Context: Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy
What type of follow-up care and rehabilitation is needed after breast reconstruction?
Any type of reconstruction increases the number of side effects a woman may experience compared with those after a mastectomy alone. A woman’s medical team will watch her closely for complications, some of which can occur months or even years after surgery (1, 2, 8).
Source links and citations
Women who have breast reconstruction may benefit from physical therapy to improve or maintain shoulder range of motion or help recover from weakness experienced at the site from which donor tissue was taken for an autologous reconstruction (9, 10). A physical therapist can help a woman use exercises to regain strength, adjust to new physical limitations, and figure out the safest ways to perform everyday activities.
Source links and citations
Publication references
Read the original reference and check its publication notices.
- PubMed 15687670 · Not captured locally · Original source
- PubMed 21735435 · Not captured locally · Original source
- PubMed 9225848 · Not captured locally · Original source
Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice