The results of breast reconstruction with implants might not be clear right away. It takes time for the tissue on your chest to heal. As your chest heals, you'll likely meet with your surgery team to talk about the results.

The goal of breast reconstruction is to give you the most natural look and feel possible after breast surgery. But breast reconstruction can't make your breast look or feel the same as it did before cancer. It is important to be realistic about what you can expect from breast reconstruction.

What breast reconstruction can do:

• Give your breast a shape.
• Help your breasts look more alike under clothing or in a bathing suit.
• Help you avoid needing to put a breast-shaped form, called a prosthesis, inside your bra.

What breast reconstruction may do:

• Improve how you feel about yourself and your body.
• Take away some of the physical reminders of your cancer.

What breast reconstruction won't do:

• Make you look the same as before your mastectomy.
• Make your reconstructed breast have the same feelings that it had before surgery.