For women considering natural tissue breast reconstruction after mastectomy, two of the most advanced options available today are the DIEP flap and the PAP flap. Both procedures use a patient’s own tissue to reconstruct the breast without implants, but they differ in where the tissue is taken from and which patients they are best suited for.
Dr. Levine discusses nipple reconstruction and adjustments for shape and symmetry completed during a minor second stage breast reconstruction procedure.
In this article Dr. Levine answers a patient's question, "What is better, diep flap or Implants?" After mastectomy, breasts can be reconstructed with either implants or the patient’s own body tissue. Reconstruction with the patient’s own body tissue is called autologous breast reconstruction, and the most sophisticated procedure for autologous breast reconstruction is the perforator flap.
Many women with a genetic predisposition for increased risk of breast cancer (BRCA 1 & 2) choose to have a preventative mastectomy with DIEP flap natural tissue breast reconstruction. In this article Dr. Joshua L. Levine provides an introduction to autologous breast reconstruction using perforator flaps, as well as explains the gold-standard of perforator flap breast reconstruction, known as the DIEP flap.
Dr. Levine explains in this 2018 Presentation the Surgical Delay for Extending the DIEP. The surgical delay phenomenon is a well-known phenomenon in the surgical world. It's an instrument by which we are able to improve the blood supply to any donor tissue, and in this case, in perforator flap breast reconstruction.
All patients having a mastectomy should know their options for breast reconstruction. Dr. Levine explains how almost any patient who is a candidate for breast reconstruction is a candidate for natural breast reconstruction using their own body tissue to recreate the breast (autologous breast reconstruction).
