Angelina Jolie’s Mastectomy UPDATE: Will Have Hysterectomy Next, Details From Doctors About Double Mastectomy Procedures
On Tuesday, Jolie, 37, revealed that she carries a defective BRCA1 gene that puts her at high risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. She had a double mastectomy in February. Then, in April, she had reconstruction with implants. Dr. Kristi Funk spoke to Associated Press about the procedure. Funk treated Angelina Jolie at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills.
Angelina Jolie's doctor spoke about performing the procedure on Jolie. Because her mom had breast cancer and died of ovarian cancer, and her grandmother had ovarian cancer, Jolie underwent genetic testing and ultimately elected to have both of her healthy breasts removed to try to stay healthy, her doctor told press.
Funk would not disclose to press when Jolie learned she carried the faulty gene, which gives a woman up to an 87 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and up to a 54 percent chance of ovarian cancer. "This family history would certainly meet any insurance carrier's criteria to cover genetic testing," Funk wrote.
Removing the ovaries will probably be next. Dr. Charis Eng, a medical geneticist and cancer specialist at the Cleveland Clinic who had no role in Jolie's care.
"We usually say 'try to have your kids'" and then have your ovaries removed by age 40, Eng said.
Angelina's had her kids, we think. Eng went on to explain that it's simply impossible to remove every speck of breast tissue, so targeting both the breasts and the ovaries decreases the overall risk greatly.
Jolie had three operations detailed by Funk on the surgery center's website. The first, on Feb. 2, was aimed at preserving the nipples, which usually are removed when a non-preventive mastectomy is don in the case of already-developed cancer. Through the crease in each breast, half the skin was lifted from the surface of the breast tissue and a sample was taken to be checked.
The tissues proved to be healthy, so she had two mastectomies on Feb. 16th and injected dye to determine which lymph nodes drained fluid from the brests. If any cancer was in the breast post-masectomy, it would likely be there. The nodes were marked so they could be checked again. Doctors also placed a balloon-like device to stretch the tissue and make it ready for an implant.
Jolie's partner, actor Brad Pitt, "was on hand to greet her as soon as she came around from the anesthetic, as he was during each of the operations," Funk wrote.
Four days after her mastectomies, Funk wrote, "I was pleased to find her not only in good spirits with bountiful energy, but with two walls in her house covered with freshly assembled storyboards for the next project she is directing."
Finally, doctors did the reconstruction on April 27, using a teardrop-shaped implant and cadaver skin to create a "sling under the implant" for a more natural look.
In all, about 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers and about 15 percent of ovarian cancers are likely due to BRCA gene mutations. Jolie's preventive step will hopefully prevent her from the same fate.