newly diagnosed with breast cancer

You’ve just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Here’s what to know about reconstruction.

A new diagnosis brings a lot of decisions at once. This page walks through the timing, the choices, and where natural-tissue reconstruction fits, so you can have an informed conversation with your care team, on your own timeline.

First, a few things worth knowing

  • Reconstruction is optional. Some women choose it, some don’t. Both are complete decisions.
  • Reconstruction can happen during your mastectomy (immediate) or months to years later (delayed).
  • In most cases, you have more time to decide than it feels like right now.
  • Federal law generally requires insurance that covers mastectomy to also cover reconstruction, including surgery on the other side for symmetry.

When reconstruction happens

Immediate vs. Delayed Reconstruction

Reconstruction can happen in the same surgery as your mastectomy, or well after your other treatment is finished. There’s no single right answer. It depends on your diagnosis, your treatment plan, and what feels right to you.

Immediate reconstruction

Performed during the same surgery as your mastectomy. You wake up with reconstruction already underway — one fewer surgery and recovery overall. This is often a good fit when your care team is confident you won’t need radiation afterward.

Delayed reconstruction

Performed after your mastectomy has healed and any chemotherapy or radiation is complete. This is often recommended when radiation is planned, since radiated skin heals differently and can affect how reconstruction looks and holds up over time.

* Your oncologic team and your reconstructive surgeon coordinate on timing together. This is a shared decision, not one you make alone.

the core procedure decision

Implants vs. Your Own Tissue

Once you know you want reconstruction, the next decision is what it’s built from: an implant, or tissue from your own body, often called autologous, or “natural tissue,” reconstruction. Both are well-established options. The right one depends on your body, your treatment plan, and what matters most to you.

Implant-based reconstruction

  • Uses a saline or silicone implant to rebuild breast shape
  • Shorter initial surgery and recovery
  • No additional donor-site incision
  • Typically needs future surgery — implants are generally replaced every 10–15 years

Autologous (natural tissue) reconstruction

  • Uses your own skin, fat, and blood vessels — often from the abdomen — to rebuild the breast

  • Results can change with your body over time, the way natural tissue does

  • Longer initial surgery, recovery, and a donor-site incision

  • Once healed, generally does not require corrective surgeries

Not sure which fits your situation? Contact us today for a consultation.

explore autologous procedures

View our procedures

From DIEP and SIEA flap to stacked, PAP, and TUG flap techniques, Dr. Levine tailors natural-tissue reconstruction to each patient’s anatomy, treatment plan, and goals.

dr. levine’s patient results

View our before and after gallery

Photographs of actual patients who’ve undergone natural-tissue reconstruction, organized by procedure and indication so you can see realistic outcomes for a situation like yours.

Learn more about natural reconstruction

Natural tissue reconstruction, explained

A few short videos on what natural-tissue reconstruction actually involves, from the practice’s own procedures and patients.

DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction Procedure Illustration, Narrated by Dr. Levine

Advanced Autologous Reconstruction, Narrated by Dr. Levine

Breast Reconstruction Scars and Treatments, Narrated by Dr. Levine

Your Surgeon

Meet Dr. Joshua L. Levine

Dr. Joshua Levine Breast Reconstruction Surgeon Welcome Text

Dr. Joshua Levine has spent more than two decades in microsurgical breast reconstruction. In 2004, he began pioneering perforator flap techniques, including DIEP flap reconstruction, that use a woman’s own tissue to rebuild the breast without sacrificing abdominal muscle.

His background spans both reconstructive and cosmetic surgery, and his practice is kept deliberately small so each patient has his direct attention through planning, surgery, and recovery.

Common questions

Questions women often ask at this stage

Most women with breast cancer have enough skin and fat in the stomach area (lower abdomen) to reconstruct one or two breasts. Even for patients who have had prior abdominal surgery, almost everyone is a candidate for this operation. The idea is to use extra skin and fat in the lower abdominal area, take this tissue along with the blood vessel that supplies it, and transplant it to the chest to make new, natural breast.

Usually, when a woman donates tissue from the abdomen, this has the same effect on the abdomen as a tummy tuck.

Gradually, blood vessels and nerves grow into the transferred tissue.  Scars fade, and the end result is a breast reconstruction that looks and feels and behaves exactly like a normal breast. The only difference is that there is no breast tissue inside it, and therefore no risk of breast cancer in the transferred tissue.

The photographs in this section are of actual patients of Dr. Joshua Levine. They have undergone various types of autologous breast reconstruction (perforator free flaps), i.e. DIEP/SIEA, PAP, GAP, delayed, immediate, with nipple-sparing mastectomy, etc. Keep in mind that each patient is unique and results may vary. To view more before & after photos, please contact our office to schedule a consultation.

Natural tissue breast reconstruction has several benefits compared to other methods of breast reconstruction. Here are a few key benefits:

  • It uses a woman’s own natural tissue, which means that it is less likely to be rejected by the body.
  • It doesn’t require the use of implants, which can cause complications such as scarring, infection, and hardening of the breast tissue.
  • It doesn’t sacrifice any muscle, which means that women can retain their natural shape and function.
  • It can be performed at the same time as a mastectomy, which can save time and reduce the overall number of surgeries that a woman needs to undergo.
  • It can help women feel more comfortable and confident in their own bodies, which can improve their quality of life.

Overall, natural tissue breast reconstruction can provide women with a more natural and safe option for restoring their breasts after a mastectomy.