Before and after bilateral TUG flap reconstruction in a 27 year old woman with breast cancer. After neoadjuvant chemotherapy, she had bilateral nipple sparing mastectomies for an aggressive left sided cancer and additional postoperative chemotherapy and radiation to her left chest.
She initially chose bilateral breast implant reconstruction, but unfortunately needed removal of her left breast implant for infection and implant exposure. Both of her implants were removed. She recovered fully and waited a full year before attempting any future reconstruction.
Given her past implant problems, her past radiation and contracted skin, she was a better candidate for a flap reconstruction than attempting another implant on the left side. While she was thin and did not have much extra fat anywhere, she had more inner thigh fat (for TUG flaps) than lower abdominal fat (for DIEP flaps).
Bilateral inner thigh skin and fat (TUG flaps) reconstructed both breasts as a delayed reconstruction. Follow up photos are shown at 6 months after surgery. Her left radiated side is subtly smaller than the right non-radiated side and her scars are maturing nicely.
She is finally getting on with her life and focusing on her career. She is a candidate for free fat grafting and/or a sub-flap implant at any time in the future, should she choose to have any revision procedures. There is no time limit for this!
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
