Breast reconstruction post mastectomy is very important sector of reconstructive plastic surgery.
There are several ways to reconstruct a new breast. One of those is the latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction. The surgery can be done immediate, after the mastectomy where the plastic surgeon takes over from the breast surgeon, or delayed, months or years after the mastectomy, when the wound has healed and patient has completed all other therapies such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
In this type of reconstruction the new breast is created using the patient’s own tissue. Latissimus dorsi is a long and thin back muscle, which is sacrificed in order to achieve reconstruction. Loosing this muscle doesn’t create any functional or anatomical problems to the patient. There are several other back muscles that take over when the latissimus dorsi is removed.
During surgery the muscle and a skin paddle is dissected, lifted and transferred through a small tunnel in the axilla towards the mastectomy and used to cover an expander or a special designed silicone implant. The choice between expander and implant depends on the mastectomy skin condition, the presence of radiotherapy injury and the shape and size of the contralateral breast.
This procedure is done under general anesthesia and the patient is required to stay a day or two in hospital.
When reconstruction is done only to one breast, additional surgeries may be required to the other one, in order to achieve symmetry. These are breast augmentation, breast lift or reduction.
