Breast Reconstruction Procedures - Know Your Options
Contact Us
Breast reconstruction restores a woman's breast to near natural shape, appearance and size following mastectomy. Today, women have better choices in treatment of cancer, as well as breast reconstruction options.
The emotional and psychological adjustments of breast reconstruction are another factor to consider when life-altering decisions must be made. The choice to have breast reconstruction is a personal one and the risks and benefits must be acceptable to you. Discussing all of your breast reconstruction options with your surgeon is crucial to making an informed decision.
Below are several procedures offered at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery.
The DIEP flap employs skin and fatty tissue in the abdomen to restore the breast. The result in the abdomen is much like a tummy tuck in that the abdominal contour is often improved significantly as well. In contrast to the TRAM flap, the DIEP procedure does not sacrifice the muscles of the abdominal wall. This preserves the abdominal strength and avoids the need for implanted mesh.
"Stacked" DIEP Reconstruction
Pioneered at our Center, the "Stacked Flap" provides another option for the thin woman who needs reconstruction of only one breast. This procedure allows for use of more abdominal fatty tissue than conventional TRAM procedures or single DIEP reconstruction procedures. Using sophisticated microsurgical techniques, our surgeons are able to provide a greater volume to the reconstructed breast than has been historically possible. Our development of the "Stacked Flap" has provided the opportunity for reconstruction with abdominal tissue for women who would have previously not been candidates.
In some women the superficial vessels in the abdominal fatty tissue provide the dominant source of blood flow to this region. In those cases the SIEA (superficial inferior epigastric artery) may be chosen as the source of blood supply for the borrowed tissue necessary to reconstruct the breast. The procedure is otherwise the same as the DIEP procedure and represents a second choice for women whose superficial vessels are more dominant than the deep inferior epigastric perforators (DIEP's).
For the thin woman or those with otherwise inadequate tummy tissue the breast may be reconstructed with tissue borrowed from the gluteal area. Skin, fat, and the tiny feeding blood vessels are collected without loss of underlying muscle tissue. The fatty tissue is removed from the excess in the upper hip providing a closure line that is concealed even in the most delicate of undergarments.
The IGAP is similar to the SGAP except that fat is collected from the lower hip and buttock.
Bilateral Simultaneous Immediate GAP Flap
Our Center was the first to develop a protocol that allows those seeking reconstruction of both breasts the option of reconstruction in one operation when the tummy tissue is insufficient. Historically GAP flap procedures have been performed one breast at a time requiring two separate operations usually several weeks apart. The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery now offers this option routinely to those women who are either thin and athletic or who for other reasons are not candidates for our procedures that borrow from the abdominal fatty excess.
Dr. Frank DellaCroce, Dr. Scott Sullivan and Dr. Christopher Trahan at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery are international leaders in breast cancer reconstruction surgery options, pioneering groundbreaking procedures including:
- Immediate Breast Reconstruction
- Nipple Sparing Mastectomy
- Stacked DIEP Reconstruction
- Hip Flap
- GAP Flap
- Advanced Stacked Abdominal/Hip Flap
They have performed over 4000 Breast Reconstruction procedures on women facing breast cancer.
