Breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery has changed dramatically over the past several years. More options are now available to women to give them the natural looking breasts they desire and deserve. Thanks to effective legislature, breast reconstruction surgery after battling cancer is a right and not just a privilege. In this manner, all insurance companies must cover breast reconstruction. Options for breast reconstruction naturally depend on the type and scope of deformity after breast cancer surgery. In patients who have had a small portion of their breast removed but no radiation therapy, a breast implant can be an excellent option. If the patient has had a single mastectomy, and the other breast is too large, she has the option to make the larger breast smaller in order to match the size of the affected breast. Radiation therapy makes matters a bit more complicated: Breast implants have a much higher chance of becoming hardened with radiation therapy. A breast lift is a better option. There are several alternatives to using implants to rebuild breast tissue. A patient can opt to use tissue from another part of her body such as the latissimus dorsi muscle (on the back) or tissue obtained from a tummy-tuck. In the second case, a doctor performs a tummy-tuck and then uses the excess skin and fat to reconstruct the breast. This type of surgery under the microscope is the most cutting-edge approach to breast reconstruction. Patients who have had an entire breast removed because of cancer have the reconstructive options to have breast implants or to rebuild breast tissue as described above. Doctors should insert breast implants through the pre-existing scars from previous surgery. If necessary, a doctor performs a breast lift on the opposite breast with a short-scar technique, which will achieve symmetry between the affected breast and its opposite unaffected breast.