Oakville Trafalgar Hospital offering areola tattooing for breast cancer patients

Oakville’s Trafalgar Memorial Hospital is one of the first public hospitals in Ontario to offer OHIP covered areola tattooing for breast cancer patients.

The procedure is performed in the outpatient medical-surgical clinic at the hospital and simulates the physical dimension and depth of an areola following post-mastectomy breast reconstruction.

Dr. Alexandra Ginty is the first physician in the region to become certified in this highly specialized field.

She is an artist as well as a breast cancer survivor herself.

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Dr. Ginty says a lot of people know about surgery and chemotherapy, but they don’t put breast reconstruction into the equation.

“Areola tattooing is not decorative, it’s the end of the restorative phase. Bringing this into the hospital as a funded service is about equity and telling people we feel this is part of the process of healing…the psychological part,” Dr. Ginty said.

Breast cancer survivor Heidi Corley says the results can be shocking because they look so real. 

“It’s amazing to see the difference at the end because it’s very natural feeling,” Corley said.

While breast reconstruction post-mastectomy is covered by OHIP, areola tattooing is only covered if performed by a physician.