Reconstruction using your own tissue
This method uses skin, fat and in some instances muscle from another part of your body to fill the empty skin enevelope of the skin-sparing mastectomy. These tissues can be moved either as a pedicled flap to the breast or as a free flap.
What is the advantage of this technique?
Using your own tissue will not lead to any foreign body reaction like capsular contracture in an implant based reconstruction. It usually leads to a more natural result, especillay matching closer to your unaffected side. It follows the normal evolution of agaeing in comparision to an implnat based reconstruction, which does not. Radiation has not major adverse effect on the outcome of the reconstruction.
What are the disadvantages?
Using tissue from another body part will lead to additional scars, which would not be necessary in an implant only reconstruction. As the surgery is more complex, therefore there is a higher risk of additional postoperative complications. Furhermore the operation is longer and hence the hospital stay.
Which areas of the body can be used?
Today there are a number of options available in regard ot hte donor area for an autologous breast reconstrcution. It ranges from the lower abdomen (tummy), buttock and inner thigh. Depending on your body habitus, the volume needed and your preference the donto side is chosen.
What is the difference between a pedicled and a free flap?
Pedicled flaps, skin, muscle and fat are moved from the back or abdomen to the chest by tunnelling it under the skin so that the blood supply to the muscle doesn't need to be cut.
In a free flap, skin, fat and sometimes muscle from the donor region is transferred to the chest by cutting the blood supply completely and reconnecting to new blood suplly on the chest using microsurgical techniques.
Reconstruction using your own tissue
This method uses skin, fat and in some instances muscle from another part of your body to fill the empty skin enevelope of the skin-sparing mastectomy. These tissues can be moved either as a pedicled flap to the breast or as a free flap.
What is the advantage of this technique?
Using your own tissue will not lead to any foreign body reaction like capsular contracture in an implant based reconstruction. It usually leads to a more natural result, especillay matching closer to your unaffected side. It follows the normal evolution of agaeing in comparision to an implnat based reconstruction, which does not. Radiation has not major adverse effect on the outcome of the reconstruction.
What are the disadvantages?
Using tissue from another body part will lead to additional scars, which would not be necessary in an implant only reconstruction. As the surgery is more complex, therefore there is a higher risk of additional postoperative complications. Furhermore the operation is longer and hence the hospital stay.
Which areas of the body can be used?
Today there are a number of options available in regard ot hte donor area for an autologous breast reconstrcution. It ranges from the lower abdomen (tummy), buttock and inner thigh. Depending on your body habitus, the volume needed and your preference the donto side is chosen.
What is the difference between a pedicled and a free flap?
Pedicled flaps, skin, muscle and fat are moved from the back or abdomen to the chest by tunnelling it under the skin so that the blood supply to the muscle doesn't need to be cut.
In a free flap, skin, fat and sometimes muscle from the donor region is transferred to the chest by cutting the blood supply completely and reconnecting to new blood suplly on the chest using microsurgical techniques.
Reconstruction using your own tissue
This method uses skin, fat and in some instances muscle from another part of your body to fill the empty skin enevelope of the skin-sparing mastectomy. These tissues can be moved either as a pedicled flap to the breast or as a free flap.
What is the advantage of this technique?
Using your own tissue will not lead to any foreign body reaction like capsular contracture in an implant based reconstruction. It usually leads to a more natural result, especillay matching closer to your unaffected side. It follows the normal evolution of agaeing in comparision to an implnat based reconstruction, which does not. Radiation has not major adverse effect on the outcome of the reconstruction.
What are the disadvantages?
Using tissue from another body part will lead to additional scars, which would not be necessary in an implant only reconstruction. As the surgery is more complex, therefore there is a higher risk of additional postoperative complications. Furhermore the operation is longer and hence the hospital stay.
Which areas of the body can be used?
Today there are a number of options available in regard ot hte donor area for an autologous breast reconstrcution. It ranges from the lower abdomen (tummy), buttock and inner thigh. Depending on your body habitus, the volume needed and your preference the donto side is chosen.
What is the difference between a pedicled and a free flap?
Pedicled flaps, skin, muscle and fat are moved from the back or abdomen to the chest by tunnelling it under the skin so that the blood supply to the muscle doesn't need to be cut.
In a free flap, skin, fat and sometimes muscle from the donor region is transferred to the chest by cutting the blood supply completely and reconnecting to new blood suplly on the chest using microsurgical techniques.
SIEA flap
Like the DIEP flap, the SIEA flap is raised from the same area of your tummy to reconstruct your breast. In some woman there are a very good blood vessels directly under the skin, who supplies the lower abdomen. These vessels can be chosen as an alternative to the DIEP flap vessels. SIEA stands for superficial inferior epigastric artery. The advantage of this technique is that the abdominal wall is not harmed at all.
Why is the SIEA flap not always used?
There are two reasons: the blood supply is very inconsistent. Furthermore, the blood supply might be only sufficient to supply a smal area of the abdomen, therefore only a limited sized breast can be reconstructed.
What are the risks of the SIEA flap?
The risks other than the blod supply are the sam like other microsurgical procedures.
