An Overview of Breast Reconstruction Surgery

It’s never an easy undertaking to make immediate decisions in the face of breast cancer or trauma, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of different information being offered to you by physicians, relatives, and acquaintances. The very first thing that you may be faced with is whether you choose to undergo a lumpectomy or a full mastectomy. Knowing your options regarding breast reconstruction surgery will not only ease your mind, but allow you to make informed choices to get right back on your feet again and start feeling good about yourself.

There are different types of breast reconstruction available, so to avoid confusion, I’ll briefly touch on the most popular choices.

Breast Implants: This procedure requires multiple steps and is the most popular. A balloon-type pouch called a “tissue expander” is placed under the skin and under the chest muscle. Every few days a small amount of salt water is added through a valve already in place. This action stretches skin and the tissue over about several months which will make room for implants, and creates a natural appearing breast form. A silicone implant is then placed through the mastectomy incision. In some cases a silicone implant may be placed.

Natural Tissue Flap:  In this procedure, your own body tissue is used to recreate a real breast. There are several potential sources for this tissue. One uses the transverse rectus abdominus (abdominal) muscle and involves skin, fat, and many times often muscle from the abdomen to fill the breast. A gluteal flap is one that uses muscle, fat, and skin from the buttocks. A latissimus dorsi flap uses the fat and the “swimmer’s muscle” from the back.

Diep Flap: Deep and low epigastric (tummy) perforator flap is the newest reconstructive method being offered is delivering mixed results. In this restorative breast procedure, the skin and fat–but very little if any muscle–is removed from the lower abdomen and then reconstructed the breast in what is called “microsurgery”. Using this procedure, there’s a scar at the donor incision site, but because no muscle was removed, muscle weakness isn’t a worry. You also don’t need physical therapy to strengthen other muscles to compensate.