Breast reconstruction with flap tissue, meaning tissue taken from your own body, helps to restore the shape and volume of one or both breasts after a mastectomy, or breast removal.
At MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, we offer the most advanced breast reconstruction techniques available. Our specialists help you find the best reconstruction option for your needs and support you through the entire process.
We can perform reconstruction using flap tissue at the time of your mastectomy or at a later date.
Our Approach to Breast Reconstruction With Flaps
Our highly skilled surgeons offer women a full range of flap reconstruction options. They meet with you one-on-one to determine the best approach based on a number of factors, including:
- Your age and overall health: Sometimes elderly women or those with other health concerns may not be able to tolerate extensive surgery.
- Your personal preferences: Our surgeons are careful to consider your personal goals and desires. These goals may include things like breast sensation, specific cosmetic results, and recovery time.
- Your body type: For example, to use tissue from your abdomen to reconstruct the breast, you’ll need extra belly fat.
Our doctors will also discuss whether a breast lift, reduction, or augmentation on the healthy breast may help to achieve balance and symmetry with the reconstructed breast.
Types of Flap Surgery
To perform flap surgery, our doctors remove a combination of skin, muscle, fat, and blood vessels from a predetermined area of your body. Then they use it to form a mound of tissue that replaces the breast removed during mastectomy.
Some of our many approaches to flap surgery include:
- Transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap, which uses skin, muscle, fat, and blood vessels from the lower belly
- Deep inferior epigastric perforators (DIEP) flap, which removes skin, fat, and blood vessels from the belly while leaving abdominal muscles in place
- Superior gluteal artery perforator (S-GAP) flap, using skin, fat, and blood vessels from the upper part of a buttock, leaving the muscle intact
- Transverse upper gracilis (TUG) flap, which removes skin, fat, muscle, and blood vessels from the inner thigh
- Profunda artery perforator (PAP) flap, using skin, fat, and blood vessels from the back of your upper thigh
- Latissimus dorsi flap, which removes skin, fat, muscle, and blood vessels from your upper back, behind your armpit
For all of these procedures, patients are under general anesthesia. If you choose to have a breast lift, reduction, or augmentation on the healthy breast, surgeons can make this alteration during the flap procedure.
Recovery From Flap Reconstruction
Because flap surgery requires making an incision on another part of the body as well as the breast, you will have an additional scar that should heal in six to eight weeks. During this period, you’ll need to avoid strenuous activity and heavy lifting.
Our physical therapists help you regain range of motion in your arms and return to your normal activities after surgery.
Overall, flap reconstruction recovery time may be a little longer than breast reconstruction with implants because of the additional incision needed.
Nipple reconstruction
After you have healed from flap surgery, you may opt for nipple reconstruction. Our surgeons typically use nearby tissue to reconstruct the nipple. We may also use areola tattooing to achieve desired cosmetic results. While reconstructed nipples look natural, they do not provide the same sensation.
Contact Us
To learn more about breast reconstruction services available at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper or to schedule an appointment, please call 855.MDA.COOPER (855.632.2667).
Refer a Patient
If you are a doctor who wants to refer a patient to MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, please call 855.MDA.COOPER (855.632.2667).