The below questions are answered by Charleston breast surgeon(opens in a new tab), Dr. Richard M. Kline, Jr. of The Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction:What are the most common reasons a diep flap(opens in a new tab) will fail?Specifics may vary from case to case and practice to practice, but all failures involve interruption of the blood supply. This can be caused from a clot forming at the arterial or venous anastomosis, or from a conformational change in the blood vessel which produces “kinking” and subsequent interruption of blood supply. Most surgical teams experience dramatically lower failure rates as their experience expands, and it can get very difficult to determine precise reasons for failure (and ways to prevent it) when failure is a very rare event, i.e., success rates of 98-99%, which is typical for experienced surgeons(opens in a new tab). The best teams will nonetheless strive, whenever they have a failure, to find some “take home message” which they can use to hopefully further minimize their failure rate.If you had a failure with Diep on one side does that increase your chances of failing again if another flap procedure were done in the future? In our experience, no, although in a large enough series it may. We have always been able to use the internal mammary vessels, supplied through collaterals, to successfully supply blood to a second flap after an initial flap failed. Generally speaking, the collateral supply to the internal mammary from one intercostal artery is probably sufficient to supply a new flap. I do think that it is advisable, however, to wait at least 3 months following an initial flap failure before attempting a second flap, as this gives time for tissue edema to resolve, and serum protein levels to return to normal.My Diep Flap failed on one side. I wound up with a silicone implant on the right side, and it is not healing quickly. What should I be watching for ? That depends on what you mean by “not healing quickly.” If you have an unhealed wound, then something is really wrong, and you should see your surgeon(opens in a new tab). If it simply hurts or “doesn’t feel right,” then it may improve with time, or you may be developing capsular contracture (a common problem with implants), which may not go away. If you still want a flap, you may well still be able to have one from your buttock or elsewhere.
Do you have a question for the Charleston breast surgeons at The Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction? We’d love to hear from you.(opens in a new tab)
