Patients can now experience total natural breast restoration after a mastectomy thanks to TruSense®. TruSense® reconstructs a warm, soft breast, reconnects the sensory nerves that provide breast feeling, and ultimately restores the patient’s sense of wholeness after breast cancer surgery without the need for implants.

The latest mastectomy techniques now being performed by some breast surgeons spare sensory nerves and preserve as much breast feeling as possible. However, during most mastectomies, nerves providing feeling to the breast are severed causing loss of sensation and numbness to the breast area. Patients having a mastectomy must therefore understand they may lose all feeling to the area, regardless of whether they choose to have breast reconstruction or not. Over time, some sensation may return but unfortunately for many patients it is minimal.

If the nerves cannot be preserved at the time of the mastectomy, reconnecting cut nerve endings helps restore as much feeling as possible. This nerve reconstruction can be performed with or without a nerve graft. A nerve graft is an extra piece of nerve that bridges a large gap between 2 nerves that need to be reconnected.

Sensory nerve reconstruction performed without the need of a nerve graft is called TruSense®. TruSense® is only possible when patients use their own tissue for the reconstruction (ie a “flap”). A nerve is included in the flap and is connected directly to a cut nerve in the mastectomy site. This technique was first performed at PRMA in 1999.

Sometimes, connecting the cut nerve endings directly isn’t possible and a nerve graft is required to bridge the gap. Sensory nerve reconstruction using a nerve graft is called Resensation®. Since the cadaveric nerve graft is prepackaged, Resensation® can be performed with any type of reconstruction (flap or implant). PRMA surgeons use the Avance® nerve graft developed by Axogen when a graft is needed.

Both these types of nerve reconstruction repair nerves cut by the mastectomy. The nerve repair is performed by suturing two nerve endings together using microsurgery and therefore requires specialized training.

While these procedures do not usually restore the same level of breast sensation as Mother Nature provided before the mastectomy, patients undergoing TruSense® or Resensation® routinely experience a significantly greater return of feeling compared to those who do not have a nerve reconstruction as part of their breast reconstruction procedure.

Breast reconstruction has evolved tremendously over the years. However, surgeons have focused only on how the new breast looks, rather than also considering how it feels to the patient.

While very few centers worldwide offer this extra procedure currently, PRMA has been performing sensory nerve reconstruction in conjunction with breast restoration after mastectomy for over 20 years. TruSense® is the result of this extensive experience.

When breast reconstruction is performed using flaps like the DIEP flap or SIEA flap, sensory nerves are transferred with the flap to the chest and reconnected to nerves cut by the mastectomy. This extra step provides patients with a better chance of regaining feeling to the new breast, in a shorter amount of time.

To learn more, please see our recent question-and-answer session on nerve reconstruction here.