DIEP Flap What is DIEP Flap?


Using a woman’s own abdominal tissue to create a new breast is a newer technique in breast reconstruction. The abdomen provides skin and soft tissue that is warm and mobile, very much like the original breast.


DIEP Flap (Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator


Flap) is a microsurgical technique that involves precisely separating the skin, soft tissue and tiny blood vessels from the abdomen without removing any of the abdominal muscles. Blood vessels are matched to supplying vessels at the mastectomy site, and a new breast is formed. Three months later, a new nipple is reconstructed, and tattooing of the nipple completes the reconstruction. Leaving the abdominal muscles intact results in less post-operative pain, a shorter hospital stay and a quicker recovery.


Candidates for DIEP Flap Are Women Who Have/Had:


• Breast Reconstruction — performed after mastectomy for breast cancer, either immediately following mastectomy or delayed for years


• Breast Implant Issues— replacing implants that were either placed during reconstruction after cancer treatment or for cosmetic breast augmentation


• Congenital Breast Abnormalities— addressing conditions such as a rare birth defect wherein one breast and chest wall are underdeveloped


Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin Plastic Surgery Center


Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin’s team of plastic surgeons is committed to providing women with every established alternative currently available in breast reconstruction.


“If I wasn’t a bike rider through all of this, I think I’d be somewhere curled up in a ball.” MARY OCHOWICZ-SCZESNY


The Road To RecoveRy


Given her love of cycling, it’s no surprise that was one of the things on Mary’s mind right after surgery. “In the recovery room, I remember the doctor saying,


‘Mary, it’s Dr. Hijjawi, and you’re all done, everything went well.’ And I said to him, ‘where’s my bike,’” Mary recalled with a laugh. She knew Dr. Hijjawi would appreciate the joke, because he is also an avid biker and they’ve spent time swapping ‘road stories.’ Of course, David was also on her mind. He and her extended family all waited at the hospital during the surgery.


With a smooth recovery and positive prognosis, Mary


can focus on being the best mom, wife and caregiver she can. David still has a way to go in his fight against cancer.


The family remains upbeat as David continues to receive infusions of donor cells and undergos exhausting bone marrow biopsies to check the progression of his transplant.


Mary is confident of one thing — that she made the


right decision regarding where she had her cancer treated and her reconstruction.


“It was a win-win really, especially considering I wasn’t


looking at any reconstruction at first,” Mary said. “I now have this flat stomach and breasts made out of my own tissue — what more could a gal ask for.” n


The Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin Plastic Surgery Center offers reconstructive surgery following breast cancer, bariatric surgery or injury, as well as cosmetic procedures. For information or to schedule an appointment, call the center at 414-805-5440.


For comprehensive cancer treatment for children, visit chw.org or call 414-266-2420.


froedtert.com Froedtert Today May 2011 9


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20