Before and after left breast reconstruction using an SIEA flap in a 39 year old breast cancer survivor. She traveled from her home state to California for a breast reconstruction using her own tissue. She had previously had a skin sparing mastectomy and an implant reconstruction on the right. Her right implant was tight under the pectoralis major muscle and did not match her natural left breast.
Her right implant was removed, her chest wall muscles were returned to the chest wall, and skin and fat was microvascularly transplanted from her lower abdomen to her chest to reconstruct her right breast. Most abdominal flaps are transplanted on the deep inferior epigastric artery perforators (DIEP flaps). Some abdomens are primarily supplied by the superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA flap) instead. This was the case for this patient.
She stayed in the Bay Area for a month after surgery. Follow up images are shown at three months after surgery. She will either travel back to the Bay Area for nipple and areola reconstruction at one year, or find a local Plastic Surgeon closer to home to complete her reconstruction.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
