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Breast Reconstruction Surgery Includes Tummy Tuck
New Procedure Doesn't Get In Way Of Post-Surgery Therapy

POSTED: 3:54 PM EST January 30, 2004
UPDATED: 4:15 PM EST January 30, 2004

Many mastectomy patients are now opting for breast reconstruction, and a new version of the procedure is making this option even more attractive to patients.

Doctors say one-third of breast cancer patients get a mastectomy because their cancer tumor is too large or the breast is too small to get a good cosmetic result.

Jenny Choo was 38 when she had a feeling something was wrong. She got tested and found out she had breast cancer and, even worse, she needed a mastectomy.

Jenny chose to have her breast reconstructed at the same time as her original mastectomy. It is a practice that is no longer thought of as medically risky.

"It doesn't get in the way of monitoring or surveillance of the tumor. Nor does it get in the way for any kind of post-surgical adjuvant therapy, like chemotherapy or radiation," said Dr. Jamie Levine, a plastic surgeon, of Bellevue Hospital in New York.

In general, women have two choices for breast reconstruction -- some type of implant or using their own tissue to make a new breast, which is typically done taking abdominal muscles, tunneling them under the chest wall to form a breast, called a tram-flap.

"This takes a lot of tissue from the abdominal wall and means that you have more of a risk of having a potential for hernia or other deformity in there," explained Levine.

Now, surgeons have developed a different approach that takes tissue from the lower abdomen and transplants it to the chest wall. It requires microsurgery to attach the free-flap to a blood supply, but you get a tummy tuck thrown in while avoiding the trim-flap problems.

"Psychologically, it's been shown to make a difference in the patient's feelings and emotions post-operatively," said Dr. Karen Hiotis, a surgeon at Bellevue Hospital.

Levine said the results are very natural and can be matched to look like a natural breast.

http://www.nbc10.com/health/2807179/detail.html