
Reconstruction of the breast after mastectomy using abdominal tissue
Reconstruction of the breast after mastectomy using abdominal tissue (known as DIEP or MS-TRAM) is the ‘Gold Standard’ in breast reconstruction.
The surgery uses the patients’ own tummy tissue and transplants it to the breast to restore breast volume and shape, with some of the benefits of a tummy tuck. The breasts will move, feel and age in a more natural way than an implant reconstruction and will withstand radiotherapy better. The below diagrams outline the surgical procedure…
Pre-Op
Patient has had previous mastectomy, which involves removal all breast tissue, +/- armpit nodes and some breast skin to go ‘flat’.
Extra (adjuvant) treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy should be completed first.
6 months need to splash after the latter to allow the tissues to settle down.
A special CT scan is done to look at the blood vessels under the skin in the area below the bellybutton