Before & After Photographs

Women who choose a DIEP or SIEA flap for natural-tissue reconstruction will have skin and fatty tissue removed from the lower abdominal area through an incision similar to that used for a "tummy-tuck." The tissue will be transferred to the chest and sculpted to restore their breast.

When a single DIEP does not provide enough tissue to adequately reconstruct a woman’s breast, two DIEP flaps can be combined together to reconstruct a breast using a technique known as stacked DIEP flap breast reconstruction.

By including tissue from each hip area together with DIEP flaps from the lower abdominal area, significantly more volume can be used to reconstruct both breasts. Narrowing of the waistline and lifting of the lower body are accomplished with this technique.

For women who do not have enough lower abdominal tissue, or for women who prefer to use tissue from other areas of the body, the "love handles," thighs, and buttocks are all potential locations from which tissue can be borrowed and used to reconstruct one or both breasts.

Breast implants can be used to help recreate a breast removed by mastectomy. When implants are used for reconstruction, scars can be limited to just the breast. Our preferred method of implant breast reconstruction, known as pre-pectoral implant reconstruction, places a breast implant directly into the space created by mastectomy, and therefore avoids tissue expansion.

Through experience, and with the use of innovative techniques, substantial improvement or even correction of the most unsatisfactory prior results or reconstructive failures is often possible.

Breast reduction surgery removes excess breast tissue to reduce breast size and hopefully symptoms such as neck and shoulder pain that are often associated with large breasts. The breasts are also typically lifted and contoured during breast reduction surgery. Breast lift surgery contours and lifts a women’s breasts without reducing overall breast size.