This week, James E. Craigie, MD, of The Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction answers your question.
Question: I was diagnosed and attempted to have reconstruction surgery following a double mastectomy in October 2013, after 2 infections following expander attempts. I finally gave up, and asked them to be removed until chemo and radiation completed. My last rad was done in September 2014. Most doctors where I'm located recommend latissimus surgery. What surgery would you recommend for me and why?
Answer: I’m sorry to hear you have had problems with your breast reconstruction. After having implant problems, I would recommend starting over and using your own natural tissue. Specifically your own fatty tissue and skin. This can be done without sacrificing any of your important muscles. Unfortunately, the Latissimus procedure sacrifices the back muscle and may not be enough tissue to rebuild your breast without using an implant. For this reason, I would consider using the skin and fatty tissue from either your tummy, thigh or buttock areas depending on your body shape and where you might have enough tissue. These procedures require removing the tissue from the donor area (without removing or sacrificing any of your muscles) and moving the new breasts to the area that was removed during the mastectomy. The procedure requires reconnecting the new breast to the blood vessels that normally nourish the breast. We call this microsurgery and is what our practice specializes in. If you would like more information, let me know. Thanks for your question!
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