Before and after left nipple sparing mastectomy and immediate DIEP flap in a 61 year old woman with breast cancer. Her goal was to be reconstructed slightly fuller than her current breast size. A balancing right augmentation was planned at the same time.
Her mastectomy incision was hidden under her left breast. A DIEP flap filled the missing breast tissue and had greater volume than her original breast size. An adjustable saline breast implant was placed under the right breast and inflated to match the DIEP flap reconstruction.
Follow up photos are shown 3 months after surgery. She has begun chemotherapy and will consider radiation afterwards. Radiation might slightly shrink her flap reconstruction but it will not injure a flap or create “fat necrosis” (hard areas of dead fat).
If the left breast reconstruction shrinks after radiation (this can take 1-2 years), the right sided breast implant could be deflated via its injection dome (port) to match the other side. We usually recommend we keep the implant port in place until the other breast has stopped changing after cancer treatment.
*All photos are actual patient photographs and are for illustrative purposes only. Individual results may vary.
