DIEP : Breakthrough - Transfer Abdominal Tissue to Augment Breasts
View PDF | Print View
by: Editor
Total views: 387
Word Count: 343
South Florida : With over 200,000 American women diagnosed with breast cancer each year, many of them will need to have a mastectomy and then choose an implant for breast reconstruction.
While saline implants are the most common, there are other options women should consider before making a final decision.
One of the patients, Ms Lynn Curry, 47, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2006 and had a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
The Parkland resident decided to delay having an implant put in before considering all her options."An implant of course was one option that was available and then a very common surgery is the TRAM flap reconstruction using abdominal tissue," said Curry.The TRAM flap would affect the use of Curry's abdominal muscles for the rest of her life.She felt saline implants were not an option because she wanted a more natural look."In January I went in and had the DIEP flap reconstruction done," said Curry."The DIEP flap stands for deep inferior epigastric perforator flap. It is the latest in the evolution of breast reconstruction with otologist tissue," said Cleveland Clinic Plastic Surgeon Martin Newman.
Dr Newman told us the surgery is complicated, lasting up to nine hours in Curry's case.
However, the benefit is the patient's reconstructed breast is made from her own tissue."It allows us to transfer tissue from a person's abdomen to their chest to recreate the breast," said Newman."They removed the abdominal tissue skin and fat in the abdomen and harvest an artery from within the abdominal wall," said Curry of her surgery.The artery is used to supply blood to the new tissue.Good venous flow is critical to the success of the surgery.While saline breasts will likely need to be replaced over time, Curry's reconstructed breast will not."For the short period of time it impacted my life, it was well worth the end result," said Curry.The DIEP flap is different from the TRAM flap because the rectus abdominal muscles are not utilized, only the abdominal tissue.To contact Dr. Newman about this procedure call the Cleveland Clinic in Florida Appointment Line at 877-463-2010.
About the Author
Guest
Rating: Not yet rated