For the last few weeks, our blog has focused on the different steps anyone in Houston should take if they want breast implants.   Today, we will shift our attention to breast reconstruction, and provide information for one such surgical method for the procedure.

Just like anyone getting Houston breast implants, the surgeon begins the breast reconstruction process by using anesthesia on you.  This ensures you will feel as little pain as possible during the surgery(hopefully none at all).

Then, they will choose the best method for the surgery(flap technique, tissue expansion, surgical insertion of a breast implant, or reconstructing a breast through reconstructing the areola and nipple.   Today, let’s say the surgeon has chosen the flap technique.

One type of flap is the TRAM flap.  It uses fat, skin, and donor muscle from a woman’s abdomen to reconstruct the breast.  The surgeon can either keep the flap attached to the original blood supply, or detach it and create a breast mound. Then there is the latissimus dorsi flap, which moves fat, muscle, and skin from the back and keeps the blood supply intact by remaining attached to the donor site.  Though not as common as these two flaps, sometimes a surgeon may use the DIEP or SGAP techniques, where tissue is moved from the abdomen or buttock to the chest.

Next time, we will discuss the tissue expansion method of breast reconstruction.