DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) Flap
The DIEP flap represents the state of the art in breast reconstruction. It allows the creation of a new breast with tissue which closely resembles the breast tissue removed with a mastectomy. This results in a reconstructed breast that is soft, warm, and naturally changes with the patient's body over time.
The skin and fat used are taken from the abdomen and are almost the same tissue normally removed in an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck). The major difference is that an artery and vein which supply this tissue are carefully dissected free from between the abdominal muscle fibers and taken with the flap. The tissue is transferred to the chest, where the artery and vein are reconnected to recipient vessels and the tissue carefully formed into a breast.
Unlike the traditional TRAM flaps, the DIEP flap does not sacrifice the rectus abdominis (belly “six pack”) muscle.
In the hands of a skilled microvascular surgeon, this tissue can be made into a breast which is alive and will grow, shrink and sag with the body’s natural changes over the rest of the patient’s life. A “side effect” of the procedure is that the remaining abdominal skin is pulled together into a flatter stomach, similar to that seen in an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).
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DIEP / SIEA flap
The skin and fat from the abdomen are used to recreate the look and feel of a natural breast. Using the DIEP or SIEA flaps requires no sacrifice of muscle from the abdomen and minimizes later abdominal weakness, bulging or hernia. |
