Lovelace Women’s Hospital is the only hospital in New Mexico to offer mastectomy patients the full spectrum of breast reconstruction surgery. Lovelace Women’s Hospital has just added DIEP flap reconstruction to the array of procedures available to breast cancer patients in New Mexico. Now New Mexican women have more options for their reconstructive surgery after mastectomy.
The DIEP flap uses fat and skin from the abdominal wall to form a new breast. The tissue is cut free from the donor site and moved to the chest where microsurgery is used to re-connect the tiny vessels for circulation. The DIEP flap spares the abdominal muscles, which results in less pain during recovery, less muscle weakness in the abdominal area and a lower risk of hernias in the future.
The procedure is being performed by Jennifer Chan, M.D., from Sandia Plastic Surgery and Gladys S. Tsao-Wu, M.D., from New Mexico Plastic Surgeons.
