Advances in
breast reconstruction
New surgery at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center offers many benefits BY DEBRA GELBART
S
usan Brown of Chandler never imagined that the results of her breast reconstruction would be so natural or that she’d get a kind of tummy tuck as a bonus. But as the first patient at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert to undergo a relatively new reconstruction procedure, she is thrilled with the outcome of her surgery. “The breast cancer diagnosis was just numbing,” said Brown, 50. “But I am so pleased by the amazing job that my surgeons did and by how much better I feel than I ever thought I would after my diagnosis.” Her plastic surgeons at Banner MD Anderson recently began performing microvascular breast reconstruction surgery for cancer patients. The procedure uses the patient’s own abdominal tissue as a means of reconstruction and eliminates the need for an artificial implant and future reconstruction surgeries.
EXPANDING PATIENTS’ OPTIONS “Although a silicone or other type of implant may be the best approach for many patients,” said surgeon Randall Craft, M.D., “it’s important to understand that because these implants cannot adjust to a changing body, more reconstructive surgery is often necessary within the first 10 years. But with this new procedure, the
Plastic surgeons Benny Tan and Randall Craft are at the forefront of a new breast reconstruction surgery at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center. patient’s own tissue will change with her as she ages.” He and reconstructive surgeon Benny Tan, M.D. typically perform the procedure together. They practice in Banner MD Anderson’s Division of Surgical Oncology. “This procedure has not been widely available in Arizona before now,” Dr. Tan said. “We want to give more patients an opportunity to choose this approach to breast reconstruction.” The procedure is called a Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator, or DIEP (“Deep”) for short. It involves removing skin and fat from a patient’s abdomen while preserving the major abdominal muscle called the rectus, commonly referred to as the “abs” or “six-pack.” The skin and fat from the abdomen are disconnected from their
blood supply in the pelvis and then— using a microscope and very fine sutures—attached to a new blood supply from the internal mammary artery in the chest. Autologous breast reconstruction surgery—where the patient’s own tissue is used—is not new. But typically, this type of surgery has required that the abs “go along for the ride,” Dr. Craft explained, to provide a blood supply for the relocated tissue. “What often happens to the patient after that is a bulging of the abdomen, hernias or weakness,” he said. “But by taking the extra time to detach and reconnect the blood supply of abdominal skin and fat and leaving the rectus intact, we can often give patients a better quality of life.” BannerMDAnderson.com
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