Plastic Surgery
Breast reconstruction in Lagos
A breast removed for cancer, or changed by an injury or an earlier operation, is rebuilt with an implant, with your own tissue, or with both. It can be done at the same time as a mastectomy or years afterwards, and it is usually done in stages. Reconstruction is a choice, not a requirement: some women prefer an external prosthesis or no reconstruction, and that is a decision you are helped to make, not talked out of.
Also called: Breast reconstruction after mastectomy, Reconstruction after breast cancer, Tissue expander reconstruction, Flap breast reconstruction, Nipple reconstruction, Delayed breast reconstruction
Medically reviewed by Dr Debo Odulana, Founder and Chief Executive, Mezo. Last reviewed . This page is general information, not a diagnosis. Care is decided with you after an examination.
Your surgeon
Dr Chinwe Kpaduwa, MD FACS
Plastic surgery, with Lyfe Plastics & Dermatology.
- Board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery
- Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
Seen in person at MedLYFE Wellness and Longevity Centre, inside i-Fitness, 25 Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos. Where an operation takes place is named in your written quote.
Video consultations: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11am to 1pm WAT, 30 minutes. Put towards the total cost of your surgery if you go ahead. In person at Medlyfe, Lekki: ₦150,000. Prefer to talk first? Send an enquiry and a coordinator calls you back.
How the price is set
Written quote after consultation
Consultation with Dr Kpaduwa, 30 minutes by video: ₦150,000
Put towards the total cost of your surgery if you go ahead.
Your price is a written quote after the consultation, because it depends on the technique, the number of stages and whether the other breast is adjusted to match. Each stage is priced in writing before it is booked.
What your written quote covers
- The surgeon, the anaesthetist and the theatre
- Where the operation takes place, named in writing
- Garments, dressings, medication and your review appointments, priced into the number rather than added afterwards
Not in the quote
- Anything not listed in the written quote, which is costed for you before you decide rather than after
- Travel and accommodation if you are coming from outside Lagos
- Cancer treatment itself, which stays with your cancer team
What decides your quote
- An implant, your own tissue, or both
- A tissue expander stage before the final implant
- Reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy, or later
- Surgery on the other breast for symmetry
- Nipple reconstruction and areola tattooing as a final stage
Reconstruction after cancer is not cosmetic surgery, but HMO cover for it in Nigeria varies and is often limited. Ask your HMO in writing, with the written quote in hand, before you plan around it.
Who this is for
- A mastectomy planned, where reconstruction at the same operation is worth discussing with your cancer team now
- A mastectomy in the past, recently or many years ago
- A breast changed in shape or size by a lumpectomy and radiotherapy
- A breast damaged by an injury, a burn or an earlier operation
When it is not the right answer
- Anyone whose cancer treatment is still being decided. The cancer plan comes first and reconstruction fits around it
- Current smokers, in whom wounds, implants and flaps fail far more often
- Health problems that make a long anaesthetic unsafe, until they are treated
- Anyone feeling pressed into it. Not having reconstruction is a sound choice
The pathway, step by step
- 1
Consultation with Dr Kpaduwa₦150,000
Thirty minutes with the surgeon herself, by video. You bring your goals, your history and photographs; she tells you what is involved, what she would and would not do, and whether you should be doing anything at all.
- 2
Working with your cancer team
If you are having cancer treatment, the timing is agreed with your breast surgeon and oncologist, including whether radiotherapy is planned, because radiotherapy changes which technique is safest. Reconstruction at the same operation as the mastectomy depends on both surgeons' dates lining up, and that is checked before it is offered.
- 3
Examination and a written quote
An in-person examination in Lagos, then a written quote that says what is included and what is not. Costings come from the team in writing, not from the surgeon in the room.
- 4
Screening before a date is offered
Nicotine, medicines, blood pressure, and whether your weight is still changing all affect safety and timing. The clinical team reads your answers before anyone offers you a date.
- 5
The first stage
Under general anaesthetic. Either a tissue expander or implant is placed, or the breast is rebuilt from your own tissue moved from another part of the body. Which techniques suit you, and where each is done, is set out in writing.
- 6
Later stages
Expander fills at clinic visits, an exchange for the final implant, adjustments, fat grafting, surgery on the other breast for symmetry, and finally the nipple and areola. Each stage is quoted before it is booked.
Recovery, realistically
Weeks 1 to 2
Drains and a support bra. Longer in hospital after own-tissue reconstruction than after an implant.
Weeks 2 to 6
Expander fills, where used, at clinic visits. Desk work returns for most people within a few weeks of an implant, later after own-tissue surgery.
Months 3 to 12
Later stages, spaced to let each one heal, and after radiotherapy has settled where it was given.
Risks you should be told about
- Wound healing problems, more likely after radiotherapy and in smokers
- With an implant: infection, scar tissue tightening around it, and sometimes losing the implant
- With your own tissue: part or all of the moved tissue failing, and weakness, a bulge or a scar where it was taken
- Asymmetry with the other breast, which later stages are there to correct
- A reconstructed breast with much less feeling than before
- More operations than first planned, which is common in reconstruction
Every operation carries risk. A surgeon who lists none is not being straight with you. Yours will go through these with you before you consent.
Questions people ask
How much does breast reconstruction cost in Lagos?
Dr Kpaduwa's price is a written quote after the consultation, because it depends on the technique, the number of stages and whether the other breast is adjusted to match. Her video consultation is ₦150,000 and is put towards the total if you go ahead.
Can I have reconstruction years after my mastectomy?
Yes. Delayed reconstruction is common, and there is no deadline. Radiotherapy given in the past changes the options, which is why it is discussed at the consultation.
Does reconstruction get in the way of cancer checks?
It does not replace them. Your cancer team continues your follow-up, and they are told about the reconstruction so they know what they are examining.
Implant or my own tissue?
An implant is a shorter operation with a quicker recovery but may need replacing later, and is less reliable after radiotherapy. Your own tissue is a bigger operation that leaves a second scar, but it ages with you. Many women are suited to one more than the other, and you are told which and why.
Prices shown are in naira and were last checked on 13 October 2026. A “from” price is the all-in starting price for the standard case. Every operation is confirmed in a written quote after your consultation, because the right operation for you, and its cost, depend on what the surgeon finds.