EVERY WOMAN WITH BREAST
CANCER DESERVES THE CHOICE,
AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO
DISCUSS THE POSSIBILITIES
AVAILABLE TO THEM.
patient’s own tissues is the only way of reconstructing a breast that looks,
feels, and ages naturally.
The current gold-standard in breast reconstruction is a procedure called a
“DIEP flap”. A “flap” is just a short-hand term used by plastic surgeons to
describe the use of living tissue from a patient’s own body in reconstructive
surgery; a “DIEP flap” involves the use of skin and fat from the abdomen
to build a new breast. Many women have a little excess skin and fat in the
lower abdomen, allowing a plastic surgeon to remove this excess tissue and
then suture the abdomen closed (a little like a “tummy-tuck” procedure).
The excess abdominal tissue, which looks and feels like a natural breast,
can then be shaped and used to reconstruct a breast which has been
removed during a mastectomy. It is possible to reconstruct just one breast
so that it matches the other side, or the tissue can be split in half to build
two breasts at the same time.
Restoring natural
form & aesthetics.
Breast reconstruction can rebuild a breast, but it can also dramatically alter a
life. For a woman facing the thought of losing a breast to cancer, the ability
to replace that breast offers dramatic physical and emotional benefits. A
woman’s ability to wear the clothes they want and not worry about looking
“lopsided”; the ability to hug her children (or grandchildren) without
worrying about which side to hug them on; the ability to just get on with life
– these are things that matter. More and more, cancer (and its consequences)
is something people must live with. Life after cancer is something that must
be in the foreground during the treatment of that cancer.
The issue fundamentally, is choice. Not all women with breast cancer
want breast reconstruction. Not all women with breast cancer will be
suitable candidates for breast reconstruction. But every woman with breast
cancer deserves the choice, and the opportunity to discuss the possibilities
available to them.
Dr Andrew Campbell-Lloyd FRACS (Plast.)
Losa Plastic Surgery. Phone 07 5503 0248
Southport Specialist Suites
25 Spendelove Avenue Southport QLD 4215
hello@losa.com.au www.losa.com.au
Breast reconstruction Skin cancer surgery & reconstruction Hand fractures & trauma Body contouring Aesthetic surgery.
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