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Implant-free options for breast reconstruction
After
undergoing a mastectomy, a woman may choose to have her breast reconstructed
using her own body tissue through what is commonly known as a flap procedure.
This operation involves moving healthy tissue from one area of the body to the
chest using one of two methods.
Flap procedures: Tunneling and free-flap
- Tunneling Procedure
- Using the tunneling procedure, the transplanted section of tissue remains
attached to its original blood supply. The surgeon tunnels the section of
tissue under the skin and places it at the reconstruction site.
- Free-flap Procedure
- Using the free-flap procedure, the tissue is disconnected from its
original blood supply and then reconnected, using microsurgical techniques,
to an existing blood supply in the chest area.
Where does the tissue come from?
Tissue from the back, buttocks, or abdomen
may be used. Using either the tunneling or free-flap technique, muscle, skin and
fat are transplanted to the chest area. After the flap of tissue has been
transferred, the surgeon shapes it into the contour of a breast.
What are the
benefits of these procedures?
Using one's own tissue and muscle results
in a more natural looking breast that is not vulnerable to the problems that
sometimes occur with implants. The shape, feel and contour of a breast
reconstructed from a woman's own tissue more closely resemble the
characteristics of a natural breast.
Transferring tissue from the abdomen also results
in tightening of the stomach resembling a tummy tuck.
What are the challenges of these procedures?
Flap surgery is more involved than implant
surgery. And, like all major surgical procedures, it carries the risk of
complications, such as bleeding, infection or poor healing. However, these
complications, should they occur, can be treated at the hospital.
Flap procedures also leave additional scars on the
abdomen, back or buttocks, and usually require a slightly longer hospital stay
than implant surgery.
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