Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery
Patients have less pain, faster recovery
with new breast reconstruction surgery
After two bouts with breast cancer, lumpectomies and radiation therapy over a three-year period, Katherine Schemel was faced with yet another recurrence of breast cancer. Based upon her medical history, her medical team at Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute suggested that she consider having a bilateral mastectomy to remove both her breasts and decrease any future risk of breast cancer.
Upon choosing the bilateral mastectomy, Schemel had one more decision to make. She knew she wanted to have reconstructive surgery, but she wasn't sure which procedure she preferred. Radiation therapy had left her skin too fragile to withstand the stretching required for traditional implants, which meant Schemel had to choose from one of several methods of "autogenous" reconstruction, procedures that rebuild the breast using a women's own body tissue. After thoroughly researching all the options, Schemel elected to have bilateral Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator flaps, also known as DIEP flaps.
Dr. Gary J. Rosenbaum, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon on staff at Mount Sinai
and Miami Heart confers with Katherine Schemel about her breast surgery.Mount Sinai & Miami Heart is part of an elite group of hospitals offering this less painful, less invasive and more natural form of breast reconstruction. And Gary J. Rosenbaum, M.D., a board-certified plastic surgeon at Mount Sinai & Miami Heart, is one of a select few surgeons in the nation trained to perform this procedure.
"It gives women who have already been through cancer and mastectomies a better option," Rosenbaum said. "Women across the state are now coming to Mount Sinai & Miami Heart to seek out this treatment."
The DIEP flap is a microsurgical procedure that uses a woman's abdominal skin and fat to reconstruct the breast. The blood vessels that nourish the abdominal fat and skin are found within the abdominal muscles.
While performing the DIEP flap Rosenbaum retrieves the blood vessels from the muscle and through microsurgery transfers only skin and fat to make a breast. Unlike other autogenous reconstructive options, the DIEP flap is the only option that keeps a woman's abdominal muscles intact. This eliminates the likelihood of developing an abdominal hernia or bulge that is sometimes described with some other autogenous reconstructive procedures. Keeping the abdominal muscles intact is crucial for the youthful, active, otherwise healthy patient, and is the answer for those women who look forward to resuming a full and unrestricted lifestyle.
"This is the most natural breast reconstruction I can think of," Rosenbaum said. "The DIEP flap is a living tissue and therefore if the woman gains or losses weight the reconstucted breast will do the same."
A recent article in the American Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery concluded that patients who underwent the DIEP flap required less pain medication as compared to women who had reconstruction where their muscle was not spared. It also suggested that the hospital stay might be slightly shorter than for those who had reconstruction that involved the abdominal muscle.
Dr. Gary J. Rosenbaum and Katherine Schemel discuss the finishing touches
to her DIEP flap reconstructive surgery.The DIEP flap can even be performed immediately after the mastectomy while the patient is still asleep. This way the patient wakes up from surgery with a breast mound. Very often a skin sparring mastectomy is used in the breast reconstruction, which allows the woman to keep a major portion of her own breast skin. Rosenbaum incorporates cosmetic principles when shaping the newly formed breast. In addition to gaining a natural looking and feeling breast, the patient also receives a tummy tuck through this procedure.
Schemel, a 62-year-old retired educator, underwent the procedure last year. She's so pleased with the results that she's made it a personal mission to make sure other women know that the DIEP Flap exists and that it's available at Mount Sinai & Miami Heart. She is also determined to let women know that breast cancer can be successfully treated and that women can look forward to restoring their body image as naturally as possible.
There were so many advantages to the DIEP flap," Schemel said. "And having a trained surgeon right here in South Florida who was experienced in the procedure made the decision for me to do this a win-win situation. For me, this was the best option."
From The Miami Herald, October 2001
Dr. Gary J. Rosenbaum,
M.D., P.A.
Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Staff Office Pavillion
4302 Alton Rd, Suite 420
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Phone: (305) 538-7726
Facsimile: (305) 538-7725
Email: info@miamidiepflap.com
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