What Is Abdominal Tissue Breast Reconstruction?
Abdominal tissue reconstruction, also known as flap reconstruction or flap surgery, is an approach to breast reconstruction that utilizes skin, fat, and other tissues from your body to rebuild the breasts after mastectomy. Flap surgery offers a more natural look and feel than implant-based reconstruction, but it requires a steady supply of blood to the area to be successful. There are three approaches we take to flap reconstruction at Northwestern Specialists in Plastic Surgery:
- DIEP flap: Utilizes one of the perforating arteries (the deep inferior epigastric perforator) under the abs to supply blood to the flap.
- SIEA flap: Utilizes the superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) to support the relocated tissues.
- Muscle-sparing free TRAM flap: If one DIEP artery isn't enough, we may remove a portion of the ab muscle to use multiple vessels. Each patient's needs are different, but we strive to remove the least amount of muscle needed for this technique.
While abdominal-based breast reconstruction is not suitable for every patient, those who undergo this treatment are often very happy with their results. Learn more and find out if you're eligible for flap reconstruction by scheduling a consultation with our Chicago, IL plastic surgery team.
How Is Flap Reconstruction Surgery Performed?
During your consultation, we'll perform an examination to decide if you are eligible for flap surgery and which technique we would recommend for you. In all cases, we first explore the least invasive option (SIEA) before moving on to more complex methods.
Regardless of which approach we use, flap reconstruction at Northwestern Specialists in Plastic Surgery follows a general procedure. First, we'll excise skin, fat, and muscle (if necessary) from elsewhere on your body (typically the belly, butt, or thighs) and use it to build a mound over the mastectomy site. Microsurgery techniques will be used to connect the vessels and ensure an adequate supply of blood. The procedure usually takes 4 – 6 hours, and you will need to spend a few days in the hospital while you recover.
What Are the Benefits of Abdominal Tissue Breast Reconstruction?
Breast loss can have a devastating impact on your self-image, making it difficult to feel comfortable in your day-to-day life. We offer flap-based breast reconstruction as just one solution to empower Chicago, IL patients to fully feel like themselves again. The benefits of flap surgery for breast reconstruction include:
- Offers the best chance of retaining a symmetrical appearance
- Reduces the likelihood of additional surgeries in the future
- Results look and feel more natural than implants
- Restores confidence in your appearance
- May also enhance your overall body shape
DIEP/SIEA/TRAM Reconstruction Reviews
I used Dr. Schierle (along with his incredible PA Monika) for my DIEP Flap Reconstruction after my breast cancer diagnosis. I interviewed multiple plastic surgeons but opted to go with him not only for his skilled background, but his ability to be upfront and realistic with me, while simultaneously compassionate. Hopefully I`ll never need him again for oncology reconstruction needs, but I would definitely use him for any elective future plastic surgery and recommend him to anyone who is looking for a very skilled plastic surgeon!
Very skilled plastic surgeon, highly recommend - I used Dr. Schierle (along with his incredible PA Monika) for my DIEP Flap Reconstruction after my breast cancer diagnosis. I interviewed multiple plastic surgeons but opted to go with him not only for his skilled background, but his ability to be upfront and realistic with me, while simultaneously compassionate. Hopefully I'll never need him again for oncology reconstruction needs, but I would definitely use him for any elective future plastic surgery and recommend him to anyone who is looking for a very skilled plastic surgeon!
I visited Dr Fine and his team after a failed breast reconstruction after being treated for cancer with mastectomy, chemo and radiation. From the first visit, there were noticeable differences between my prior surgeon and him. He and his team are empathetic and make their patients feel at ease and cared for. At each visit, he and his team have spent a lot of time with me. The visits never feel rushed. At my first visit, he looked at my infected reconstructed breast with an exposed implant and calmly explained what was necessary to fix it. He then explained the procedure he thought would be helpful and showed me before and after pictures of patients who had undergone the suggested surgery. The end result was gorgeous, by the way, in all of these pictures---even in post radiation patients. In this visit alone, he spent more time with me than my prior surgeon had spent with me over multiple visits. He answered all my very detailed questions. In my first visit with my prior surgeon, before my mastectomy, my husband and I were left alone in an exam room for about an hour with a saline-filled implant and silicone-filled implant on the counter to look at. The surgeon I went to before spent about 20 minutes with me in that visit and did not show me any before or after pictures. The choices presented to me were implant reconstruction with saline- or silicone-filled implants or an abdominal flap procedure that takes 2-4 months to recover from. I am very career-oriented and don't have 2 months to take off of work. Dr Fine, on the other hand, gave me the option of a latissimus doors flap with a significantly shorter recovery time, lower complication rate, and better aesthetic result. He gives you his honest opinion based on 30 years of experience. He tells you the hard truths: such as that 50% of implant reconstructions fail after radiation therapy. I wish I would have known that before I started on this journey because I would have made very different choices. The icing on the cake was when he took out the infected implant in his office, which makes a woman feel really terrible and ugly and scared, and his very kind PA told me I have beautiful eyes. Wow. What a caring team.
I visited Dr Fine and his team after a failed breast reconstruction after being treated for cancer with mastectomy, chemo and radiation. From the first visit, there were noticeable differences between my prior surgeon and him. He and his team are empathetic and make their patients feel at ease and cared for. At each visit, he and his team have spent a lot of time with me. The visits never feel rushed. At my first visit, he looked at my infected reconstructed breast with an exposed implant and calmly explained what was necessary to fix it. He then explained the procedure he thought would be helpful and showed me before and after pictures of patients who had undergone the suggested surgery. The end result was gorgeous, by the way, in all of these pictures---even in post radiation patients. In this visit alone, he spent more time with me than my prior surgeon had spent with me over multiple visits. He answered all my very detailed questions. In my first visit with my prior surgeon, before my mastectomy, my husband and I were left alone in an exam room for about an hour with a saline-filled implant and silicone-filled implant on the counter to look at. The surgeon I went to before spent about 20 minutes with me in that visit and did not go into detail. The choices presented to me were implant reconstruction with saline- or silicone-filled implants or an abdominal flap procedure that takes 2-4 months to recover from. I am very career-oriented and don't have 2 months to take off of work. Dr Fine, on the other hand, gave me the option of a latissimus dorsi flap with a significantly shorter recovery time, lower complication rate, and better aesthetic result. He gives you his honest opinion based on 30 years of experience. He tells you the hard truths: such as that 50% of implant reconstructions fail after radiation therapy. I wish I would have known that before I started on this journey because I would have made very different choices. The icing on the cake was when he took out the infected implant in his office, which makes a woman feel really terrible and ugly and scared, and his very kind PA told me I have beautiful eyes. Wow. What a caring team.
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Natural-Looking Breast Replacement
Flap reconstruction is a complex procedure that requires extensive knowledge of both plastic surgery and microsurgery techniques. At Northwestern Specialists in Plastic Surgery, our providers have the years of training and hands-on knowledge needed to create natural-looking results for women affected by breast loss. Reach out to our plastic surgery office in Chicago, IL to find out if you're a candidate for DIEP, SIEA, or TRAM breast reconstruction.