State-of the-Art Breast Reconstruction in Connecticut and New York

Natural tissue from a woman's own body, when used for breast reconstruction, provides the most durable and natural results possible today. Natural-tissue reconstruction is also called autologous breast reconstruction.

STATE-OF-THE-ART APPROACHES TO BREAST RECONSTRUCTION

Living tissue that is surgically relocated from one part of the body to another is called a "flap." One of the most important factors differentiating natural-tissue reconstruction methods from one another is whether or not muscle is removed from a flap's donor site and transferred to the chest along with the skin and fat needed to reconstruct a woman's breast.

*PERFORATOR FLAP RECONSTRUCTION*

Perforator flaps such as the DIEP flap are sophisticated methods of natural-tissue restoration that leave muscle intact at the donor site while still providing the necessary blood supply to the tissue used to restore the form of the breast. Without destroying important functional muscles, a new breast from healthy, warm, living tissue. can be shaped to closely resemble the breast removed by a mastectomy. Because they do not remove muscle, perforator flaps are now considered by many experts to be the very best option for natural-tissue breast reconstruction.

OTHER METHODS OF BREAST RECONSTRUCTION

*MUSCLE FLAP RECONSTRUCTION*

Only skin and fat, are needed for natural-tissue breast reconstruction. Although muscle is not needed to restore the shape and form of a breast some methods of natural-tissue breast reconstruction do remove muscle from their respective donor sites in order to carry the blood vessels that nourish the tissue of the reconstruction. The removal of muscle from a flap's donor site, with a TRAM flap, for example, is the principal drawback to muscle flaps (also called musculocutaneous flap) used in an era well before techniques for using perforator flaps were developed.

*RECONSTRUCTION WITH BREAST IMPLANTS*

All methods of reconstruction that use an implant require inserting into the body a prosthesis made of synthetic material. Breast implants may vary from one another not just in terms of the material used to fill them --saline or silicone-- but also in terms of shape, the texture of their outer surface, profile or degree of projection. You will need to weigh he advantages of this quicker and technically less demanding reconstruction method against its disadvantages and possible later complications, including capsular contracture, implant rupture and a high rate of unplanned re-operation. Studies have shown that unplanned re-operations are necessary within 5 years or reconstruction for about half of all women who under breast implant reconstruction; the number is even higher for women who receive radiation.

In addition, in January 2011, the FDA raised concern about a possible link between breast implants and a rare form of lymphoma. The FDA is presently investigating this link.


STATE-OF-THE-ART BREAST RECONSTRUCTION IN CONNECTICUT AND NEW YORK
If you are considering natural tissue breast reconstruction with perforator flaps such as the DIEP flap or SGAP flap, it is important that you consult with specialists who perform these procedures on a regular basis.