Leading breast reconstruction surgeons Frank J. DellaCroce, M.D., FACS, Scott K. Sullivan, M.D., FACS, and Chris Trahan, M.D., have recently published data from groundbreaking work and pioneering description of a new technique that allows for women historically considered too thin for breast reconstruction with their own tissue to undergo their procedure with high success rates.
The article, ‘Stacked Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Review of 110 Flaps in 55 Cases over 3 Years,’ is published in the March 2011 Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
“Breast reconstruction continues to evolve,” state the world-renowned surgeons and founders of The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery and St. Charles Surgical Hospital (New Orleans, Louisiana 70130). “The Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator (DIEP) flap is a well-described means of providing natural tissue reconstruction with an attendant goal of preserving muscle structure in the abdominal donor site.
Effectiveness and reproducibility
The purpose of reviewing these data, compiled from three years of surgeries, was to evaluate the effectiveness and reproducibility of this new procedure. The development of this technique was based on the desire to provide natural tissue reconstruction for women lacking the abdominal fatty volume for a routine DIEP or TRAM flap procedure. Our results showed the use of the stacked DIEP flap in a large number of patients with high success rates and superb aesthetic outcomes over a relatively short period of time. Of the 55 patients who underwent reconstruction using 110 flaps, all enjoyed successful outcomes.”
The review show how the ability to take advantage of the entirety of the abdominal donor volume allows those with a relatively thin body to enjoy can benefit from DIEP flap reconstruction. By avoiding muscle sacrifice and allowing precise, independent flap inset, this ne microsurgical procedure overcomes a number of limitations of other techniques with similar goals, including the bipedicled transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap.
DellaCroce, Sullivan and Trahan are international leaders in breast cancer surgery options and have pioneered many of the revolutionary procedures at the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery, and have refined breast reconstruction into methods that now represent the state-of-the-art choice in breast reconstruction. With over 20 years of combined experience they have performed thousands of perforator flap surgeries with high patient satisfaction. The Stacked DIEP free flap breast reconstruction, the newest addition to their repertoire, will allow women who were previously not candidates for natural tissue reconstruction another option for their breast restoration when facing mastectomy.
For more information:
Dellacroce FJ, Sullivan SK, Trahan C. Stacked Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Review of 110 Flaps in 55 Cases over 3 Years. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2011 Mar;127(3):1093-9.
