Dr. Sullivan: Women come to us for corrective breast reconstruction. Unfortunately, the quality of reconstruction is not available throughout the world that should be a standard of care. So, unfortunately, these women get stuck in systems with which they’re swept away, and they’re trusted that they’ll be cared for by their local personnel who may not have the skill set or the aesthetic eye to do what’s fair for them and what’s right.

Unfortunately, there are circumstances in which they’ve suffered either poor scarring, some other disfigurement, failed flap, marked asymmetries, or functional problems — and all those have to be restored.

A large part of our practice has been dedicating ourselves to that: trying to make whole again. Through that avenue, we’ve developed a number of sophisticated microsurgical techniques that are only available here at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery in St. Charles Surgical Hospital. It has allowed us to participate in recovering these women, restoring their function, restoring a nice aesthetic value to their feminine self, and restoring a sense of whole.

That’s been our mission.