The Value of a 2nd Opinion: Am I a Candidate for DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction?

DiepCFoundation has the privilege of speaking with Drs. David Song of MedStar Georgetown University and Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio. Both of these board certified micro-surgeons have performed a high volume of successful autologous based breast reconstruction surgeries.
They discuss the value of a 2nd opinion after being told that you might not be a candidate for using your own tissue. There are a number of other flaps that can be used. Additionally, not all plastic surgeons routinely perform autologous based breast reconstruction and it is often beneficial to seek out those plastic, reconstructive surgeons who have performed a high number of successful flap surgeries for a second opinion. You may find that you are indeed a candidate for autologous based breast reconstruction.
www.diepcfounda... is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization providing education and resources to empower women and men with information to make an informed decision about options for breast reconstruction after a mastectomy.
Follow us on:
/ diepcfoundat. .
/ 6state
/ diepcfounda. .
Blog: diepcjourney.com/

[@carolinecampbell39]

The only surgeon locally who is willing to do DIEP for me does the surgery alone and says it will be a 12-14 hour surgery partly because of the bi-laterl explant process and because she does it alone. I've heard she is very good but the long surgery concerns me - I am age 63. Could you please give me your insight?

[@DiepCFoundation]

It is very important to have complete confidence in your surgeon. Ask her how many of the procedures she has done, if she uses ERAS protocol (there is a video with the ERAS title in it), how successful the procedure she will be performing on your has been for her with other patients, is your age a factor for her (there is a video on the channel with the word age in it to view) how long most of her surgeries are. These are some of the top questions I can think of.