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DIEP Flap Reconstruction

DIEP Reconstruction

An innovative microsurgical procedure, DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) flap breast reconstruction, is now available to mastectomy patients of Bon Secours Charity Health System.

The DIEP flap procedure is the most advanced form of breast reconstruction available today. The surgery uses the patient’s own abdominal skin and fat to reconstruct a natural, warm, soft breast after mastectomy.

The DIEP flap preserves all the abdominal muscles. Only abdominal skin and fat are removed similar to a “tummy tuck”. Patients experience less pain after surgery because of this, enjoy a faster recovery and maintain their abdominal strength long-term.

The skin and fat below the belly button feels very similar to breast tissue. It is the perfect choice to replace the breast tissue removed by the mastectomy. The blood vessels (“perforators”) that keep this skin and fat alive lie just beneath or within the abdominal muscle. A small incision is made in the abdominal muscle to access these vessels.
  

Good Samaritan Hospital’s New Revolutionary Procedure Makes Breast Reconstruction Easier After Cancer

The Center for Breast Health at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, NY is the ONLY hospital in Rockland and Orange Counties to offer AirXpanders AeroForm® Technology

Good Samaritan Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Network (WMCHealth) is now utilizing a new device to prepare patients for reconstructive surgery after breast cancer more quickly, with less pain and fewer visits to the doctor.

The AirXpanders AeroForm® Technology device employs a tissue expander that’s filled with air through a remote that the patient controls unlike the traditional method of saline injections.With one press of the single-touch button, the Controller syncs with the Expander and a dose of of carbon dioxide is released, allowing the Expander to gradually expand.


Caption: The AeroForm Tissue Expander System is comprised of two primary components: the AeroForm Tissue Expander and the AeroForm Dosage Controller.

Traditionally doctors insert a temporary implant during a mastectomy, which is gradually filled with saline over a period of up to several months to expand the skin and muscle of the chest wall to make space for a long-term reconstructive implant. The process requires patients to get repeated injections and make numerous trips to the doctor’s office. The new Aeroform Tissue Expander System lets women do this on their own time outside of a doctor’s office.

Because patients administer the dose themselves, often several times a day, the process is much faster than the traditional method which can take up to six months.  It also allows for the patient to have more control of their breasts’ natural shape.  This technology is cutting-edge and is changing the face of how we address expansion for breast reconstruction in cancer survivors.