When Cori Reynolds, 36, of Loyalsock Township, decided to have a double mastectomy as part of her breast cancer treatment, she knew she wanted breast reconstruction at
the same time.
“I wasn’t sure how I would deal with such a dramatic change, so it was important to me to have the reconstruction right away,” Cori says.
Dr. Susan Branton, Cori’s breast surgeon at Susquehanna Health’s Kathryn Candor Lundy Breast Health Center, referred her to plastic surgeon Dr. Nathalie Lavallee, of Susquehanna Health’s Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Lavallee’s subspecialty is breast reconstruction. Together the surgeons planned and performed the procedure to remove breast tissue and begin reconstruction.
Cori says working with Dr. Lavallee to make decisions about the reconstruction was a bright spot during a very difficult time in her life.
“Breast reconstruction can be an important part of a woman’s recovery from breast cancer,” says Dr. Lavallee. “I think it helps a woman, psychologically, not to have to go through a phase where she doesn’t have breasts.”
When she came to Susquehanna Health in 2009, Dr. Lavallee began a close relationship with the breast center that includes participation in monthly patient conferences to discuss cases with the breast surgeons and oncologists. In addition to reconstructions after breast cancer, she assists with other breast health issues, such as ruptured implants and breast hypertrophy.