youtube Breast Cancer Treatment - DIEP Flap Reconstruction

OR-Live.com webcast January 11, 2008 at 5:00 PM EST (22:00 UTC) From Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY

Beth Israel Medical Center surgeons use newer breast reconstruction techniques that rebuild the breasts in the most natural way possible.

Advances in breast reconstruction techniques have dramatically improved the options for breast cancer treatment. At Beth Israel Medical Center, our renowned reconstructive plastic surgeons are using the DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforator) flap technique in which the surgeon removes skin and fat from the abdomen and transplants it to the mastectomy site. Unlike older procedures, the DIEP flap doesn't require the removal of abdominal muscle when forming the breast mound. The skin and fat along with the small blood vessels that go into them are detached and reconnected in the breast area so that the tissues can live up there. In addition to an improvement in the abdominal contour, another benefit of DIEP flap surgery is faster recovery and less abdominal discomfort.