Breast cancer reconstruction is one of the most challenging aspects of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery. The surgery often involves an oncologic component that requires close attention and may require chemotherapy before and/or after surgery that needs to be completed in a timely manner. The DIEP flap uses microvascular soft tissue transplantation to transfer the skin and fat from the abdomen…
Mastectomy Breast Reconstruction is challenging. Mastectomy reconstruction in some patients can involve using the patient’s own tissue rather than implants for breast reconstruction. In the DIEP flap breast reconstruction, the lower abdominal tissue that is usually discarded in a tummy tuck is used to reconstruct the breast. The deep inferior epigastric artery and vein provides the blood supply to the…
Breast cancer reconstruction is challenging. In some patients, who do not wish to have implants, we can reconstruct the breast with the patient’s own body tissue. This is called an autologous breast reconstruction. In the DIEP flap reconstruction, the skin and fat from the abdomen and sometimes a small cuff of rectus muscle is disconnected from the blood supply in…
There are several ways for a Plastic & Reconstructive surgeon to reconstruct the breast. One common way to reconstruct the breast is with an autologous tissue reconstruction of the breast with tissue from the lower abdomen. When we reconstruct the breast with the patient’s own body tissues, we call this an autologous breast reconstruction. In an autologous breast reconstruction, the…
Mastectomy surgery and breast reconstruction are challenging. Depending upon the size of a tumor, the location of the tumor, and patient comorbidities the blood supply to the nipple areola complex can be compromised as well as the mastectomy skin. Occasionally, during a mastectomy, the midline of the chest can be inadvertently crossed, and the reconstruction can result in a symmastia. …
In the ptotic patient and when the patient would like to have an autologous reconstruction, it is helpful to reconstruct the breast with an inverted-T skin pattern. The photograph demonstrates before and after breast reconstruction with a Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator Flap. The left breast underwent mastopexy reduction to set a new goal position to match. The right breast…
Left Breast Reconstruction with DIEP Flap to Reconstruct the Breasts when Implants are not an Option
After mastectomy, the breast can be reconstructed with implants or with the patient’s own tissue. When we reconstruct the breast with the patient’s own tissue, we use the term autologous breast reconstruction. Reconstruction with the patient’s own tissue is helpful in cases where radiation was required after mastectomy or in situations where implants became infected at any time after a…
Breast reconstruction following mastectomy can be performed with tissue expanders and implants. In some cases, patients do not want to have their breast reconstructed with implants and we can use the skin and fat from the abdomen to reconstruct the breast. In some patients the DIEP flap can be completed at the time of the mastectomy depending upon the size…
When the mastectomy has been radiated and there is either a tissue expander or implant beneath the radiated pocket, a capsular contracture can develop which displaced the implant to a more superior location. When an implant reconstruction is not possible or favorable secondary to the radiation, then the breast can be reconstructed with a DIEP flap. In a DIEP flap…
Unilateral or a single side mastectomy reconstruction can often be accomplished with a DIEP flap from the abdomen. When a unilateral mastectomy is performed it may be easier to match the non-cancer breast with skin and fat from the abdomen. This may be even more appropriate when the mastectomy has undergone radiation therapy. The radiated breast skin and tissue expander…