The embedded breast reconstruction options video is one of the reasons I chose the plastic surgery group to perform my DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Since this blog was published, PRMA has now added another microsurgeon to their team, Dr. Ramon Garza III. There are other plastic surgeons across the U.S., highly qualified, who successfully perform flap reconstruction to rebuild breasts for those affected by breast cancer. However, there are few who do it in high volume, have a high success rate, and with great compassion. It is a specialized surgery requiring years of training, practice and skill. It is imperative to know what makes a successful micro-surgeon and what women are looking for when they choose someone to perform this intricate surgery.
I have listed on my resource page the following key questions to ask your plastic surgeon.
- How many procedures have they performed?
- What is their success rate?
- Do they work with a team? The shared expertise is a factor as well as minimizing time for the patient in surgery.
I wanted to extract statement highlights from this 20 minute video. Think about these statements. Print up the list as a reminder of what you should be looking for when you choose a compassionate, skilled, and qualified micro-surgeon to do your breast reconstruction using your own tissue. It was my criterion and I can say with gratitude to PRMA, they hit the mark! I only hope that you find as skilled and as qualified plastic surgery group I did even if it means traveling for your surgery. I traveled over 800 miles and with planning and help, it is very possible.
Statements made by the patients:
I couldn’t understand why I had cancer.
I felt that I took very good care of myself.
You wouldn’t be thinking about reconstruction if you weren’t thinking about living.
I found very good information on them.
I like the idea of the reconstruction being part of you and growing with you.
I’m doing this video because some women have a mastectomy and they won’t find out until later on that they could have reconstruction or that they could have had reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy.
I am very happy with my results. I don’t have any restrictions. You can resume your normal activity.
A lot of women have said after the surgery that they can forget breast cancer and go on with their life.
The majority of their plastic surgery is breast reconstruction.
I was going in with people who were skilled, constantly on the edge of technology.
You’re waking up with a flat stomach. You’re waking up with your breasts again.
With the instructions the nurses gave me they helped me get better quicker than I even expected myself.
Statements Made by the Team of Plastic Surgeons:
It’s what we do every day. It’s what we’ve been trained to do. It’s our passion.
Our goal is to restore wholeness to patients who have cancer.
What set PRMA apart… is the team approach to breast cancer care.
It’s one of the leaders in reconstructive surgery.
All the PRMA surgeons are board certified plastic surgeons with extensive training not just in plastic surgery but in microsurgery.
At our first meeting we spend quite a while with the patients reassuring them that this is not the end of the world that they will get through this.
Because of our experience we can say that. We’ve treated thousands of patients with breast cancer.
Taking care of women with breast cancer is most important to us.
At PRMA we provide a full spectrum of options for breast reconstruction.
The patient has their own living tissue which is permanent, healthy warm, natural tissue. There’s no substitute for this.
A lot of patients after six months will say, “It feels like my breast.”
We all work together in a group setting. Most of these procedures take two surgeons working together to adequately perform the procedure and to do it in a short enough period of time that it makes it safe for the patient so we all are equally qualified in that respect.
Nation-wide there are probably only about 40 plastic surgeons that perform DIEP flap reconstruction routinely.
All of our surgeons have extensive experience with microsurgery.
At PRMA we perform hundreds of DIEP flap reconstructions every year.
We look for other tissue options that will provide for healthy, living tissue.
The success rate is over 99%
To do this well, you need to do it often and you need to have a team.
We have a special wing at the hospital for breast reconstruction patients.
The nurses are well trained on how to monitor the flap and how to take care of these patients
One of the advantages we have at PRMA is that our entire staff is sensitive to the needs of breast cancer patients.
We will dedicate all of our energy to your care.
The final statement made by a patient:
Use this as an opportunity to take charge of your life!