An increasing number of women who undergo mastectomies are having breast reconstruction using wedges of fat from their abdomens, buttocks or thighs, doctors say.

Marc L. Kaplan, spokesman for the New York State Medical Society, said women who underwent mastectomies often needed at least two days of hospital care.

She eventually underwent bilateral mastectomies, then awoke from a subsequent surgery to a doctor telling her, "We had to remove your uterus."

Tentative plans call for a spring fashion show for women with special needs, like those with osteoporosis or those who have undergone mastectomies, Dr. Comite said.

Hoping to fend off Federal regulation, officials of managed health care plans said today that they would cover at least one night's hospital care for women who undergo mastectomies.

Mrs. Handler underwent mastectomies in 1970 and 1989.

Some bills are narrowly focused and would, for example, require insurance companies to cover 48-hour hospital stays for women undergoing mastectomies.

Outcomes of 1,029 L-RT patients were compared with 1,387 patients who underwent mastectomies.

The fact that prostheses are available for the many women who have had to undergo mastectomies is naturally an advantage, and we must not forget that this represents important progress in itself.