Breast Reconstruction

Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction

Over the past few years, great strides have been made in the field of breast reconstruction, in particular in microsurgical breast reconstruction. With microsurgery, which has revolutionized plastic surgery, women have a range of reconstructive options never before possible: a woman can choose to have her breast reconstructed in such a way that it has a natural look and feel without sacrificing muscle tissue to do so. For breast reconstruction after mastectomy with natural tissue, microvascular perforator flap breast reconstruction is the new gold-standard. The most commonly used perforator flap for breast reconstruction is the DIEP flap.

Microsurgery is surgery performed under an operating room microscope, using high magnification and special instruments. With delicate microsurgical techniques, a trained surgeon can relocate tissue from one part of the body to another, and successfully restore circulation to that tissue after it has been moved. When microsurgery is used to perform a perforator flap breast reconstruction, the tiny vessels, called “perforators,” that nourish tissue are separated from the muscles in which they normally travel, so that muscle need not be moved. By connecting these tiny blood vessels of the transferred tissue to blood vessels at the mastectomy site, the tissue can grow and remain healthy in its new location. With these procedures, unlike other methods of natural- tissue breast reconstruction, there is no need to sacrifice important functional muscles.

Finding a Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction Expert

Not all plastic surgeons routinely perform microsurgery, and, of those who are able to, many do not regularly perform perforator flap breast reconstruction. So if you are considering perforator flap breast reconstruction, it is important to look for a board-certified plastic surgeon who has extensive experience with this type of complex surgery. How can you tell if a surgeon is experienced? Ask how many of these particular procedures he or she has performed, and ask the surgeon to specify what his or her success rate has been for the specific procedures you are considering. An experienced microsurgeon should be very willing to answer your questions.

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