A decade ago, Dr. Sheina Macadam (Plastic Surgery) was one of few Canadian plastic surgeons performing a new type of microvascular breast reconstruction surgery for women who lost their breasts due to cancer. Unlike older methods, which took muscle from the abdomen and moved it into the chest, this new procedure used only skin and fat from the abdomen, sparing the muscle and allowing for a quicker recovery and a lower risk of hernias and weakened abdominal strength.
Today, the procedure, called Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator flap (DIEP), is becoming more common, but plastic surgeons clash on whether to offer it over more conventional breast reconstruction procedures. Dr. Macadam has conducted a study, to be published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery early this year, that shows patients who have undergone DIEP-flap surgery tend to be more satisfied than those who opt for other methods. Her study was profiled in the Globe and Mail.
Read the entire article in the Globe and Mail
posted : 2016-January-18