There are a subset of patients who have undergone implant reconstruction following mastectomy and who choose to have their implants removed and their breasts reconstructed with DIEP flaps. The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap uses the skin and/or fat from the lower abdomen to reconstruct the breast. This flap is helpful to reconstruct the upper pole of the breast that can not often be corrected with an implant. The procedure involves removing the implants and then transferring the tissue from the lower abdomen to the chest and reconnecting the blood supply. The DIEP flap requires and inpatient hospital stay for recovery.
