Category: Finding A Surgeon

Primary Care; Radiologist; Breast Surgeon; Oncologist; Plastic Surgeon specializing in mircrosurgery

Can Sensation be Restored to the Breast after Mastectomy?

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At a meeting of the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), I had the opportunity to interview Dr. James Craigie from the Center for Natural Breast Reconstruction in Charleston, S.C. for this important discussion on restoring sensation to the breast after mastectomy. This is done during breast reconstruction surgery. Women undergoing DIEP flap breast reconstruction frequently ask me, “Can sensation be restored to the breast after mastectomy?” The short answer is yes, it can. However, not all plastic surgeons perform this procedure. In fact, it is done by surgeons trained in a sub-specialty of plastic surgery called microsurgery. Microsurgery requires advanced skills involving the art and science of connecting nerves and blood vessels under high powered microscopes. It takes the trained eye of a microsurgeon to perform nerve reconstruction. What Type of Breast Reconstruction Can Restore Sensation? Dr. Craigie explains that “natural breast reconstruction” involves using the patients own tissue. Continue Reading →

Microsurgery in Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy

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I had the opportunity to attend the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgeons meeting recently. As a patient advocate attending, I was particularly focused on microsurgery in breast reconstruction after mastectomy. It gave me the chance to have in depth conversations with plastic surgeons who dedicate intense hours of training to become microsurgeons.  The conference attendees included medical students interested in this specialty, plastic surgeons who are currently in fellowship training for microsurgery, and those seasoned veterans sharing the latest techniques and methods of surgical skills to achieve optimal outcomes for patients. The ASRM conference took place at a hotel with all of the sessions easily accessible. This conference felt comfortable, informal, and intimate to me. These microsurgeons reflected the feeling, this group is like a small tribe who understand the rigors of microsurgical training and how it can positively change the lives of patients. Why Should you Find a Microsurgeon Continue Reading →

A Simple Note of Gratitude

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I was raised to have a grateful heart. I have come to appreciate this value my parents taught me. They modeled the importance of expressing gratitude frequently with friends, family, and even strangers. Mom and Dad always said gratitude should be given freely from the heart, expecting nothing in return. I dedicate this blog to an individual I have known for five years. I encourage the reader to take the time to acknowledge those in your life who have made a difference, large or small, either publicly or privately with a simple note of gratitude from your heart. Moments in life are sweet and precious, tenuous and unpredictable. We don’t always know the direction our lives will take. There are the planners and the gypsies. I have always considered myself a planner with a bit of gypsy spirit. A plan I put in place in 2014 was to complete my Continue Reading →

DiepC Journey Facebook Group Hit 4,000 Members!

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DiepC Journey Facebook Group Hit 4,000 Members! Facebook members on DiepC Journey, Breast Reconstruction after Mastectomy, can be very active in the evenings. This happens when members have some alone time after dinner, work, and putting the children to bed. I hopped on last night. I noticed a lot of activity and questions being asked. Then something incredible happened. I looked at the number of members as I approved some new requests to join. I was a bit shocked to find out the Journey hit 4,000 members. DiepC Journey Facebook Group and 4,000 Members Around the Globe I am in awe of this group because it is specific to breast reconstruction after mastectomy. That is our common bond. On World Kindness Day I asked members to check in to tell each other where they were from. This group continues to practice kindness toward each other in unexpected ways. They checked Continue Reading →

How Shared Decision-Making Works in Breast Reconstruction

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The term shared decision-making can be used across multiple disciplines in medicine. The process of shared decision-making takes place when a patient and their health care provider work together to make a health care plan that is best for the patient. It is a topic I speak of often in my community as a patient advocate for all options of breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Let’s talk about shared decision making and how it works in breast reconstruction. How Shared Decision-Making Works for the Patient Whether implants are chosen or you choose to use your own tissue, being your own best advocate and doing your homework prior to your initial consult is beneficial. Prepare your questions and findings ahead of time. Your physician will go to the consult prepared. Doesn’t it make sense then, that you are just as prepared? This first step will empower you with a voice to communicate Continue Reading →

My Journey with Breast Cancer

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My journey with breast cancer began as a 6 year old little girl that watched her mother battle the disease in May of 1987. My mom didn’t undergo breast reconstruction (I don’t even know if they gave her the option) so she remained flat after a single mastectomy was performed followed by chemotherapy. In May 1991, the disease returned, and it has metastasized to her bone. She ultimately succumbed to the disease 2 ½ year later in December of 1993. I was 13 years old. I spent a majority of my 30’s undergoing genetic testing, scans, self-breast exams, and biopsies at the recommendation of various physicians including my ob-gyn and a hematologist I had visited due to iron deficiency in my first pregnancy. 2 biopsies had already come back negative. Then on Thursday, November 15th after having undergone a 3rd biopsy on the same breast, I got the call that Continue Reading →

Trust in your Breast Reconstruction Surgeon

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How do you know when you have complete trust in your breast reconstruction surgeon? I can share my experience, but I am not you. My breast cancer experience was unique to my circumstances. It was my second occurrence of breast cancer. I had a double mastectomy and for seven long months lived without my breasts. Then I had what is known as delayed DIEP flap breast reconstruction. I honestly felt like a mangled mess the day I first saw my plastic reconstructive surgeon for my initial consult. I had skin sparing, nipple sparing mastectomy. Looking down at the folds of skin laying on my now breast-less chest wall always made me towel off quickly after each shower to put something over the area left marred by breast cancer. Each side of my chest looked different since I had radiation twelve years previous on my left side only. Scarring, tightness, and Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction From the Clinic to the Canvas

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It is a remarkable patient experience from the clinical consult for breast reconstruction to the day the plastic surgeon begins the process of rebuilding a patient’s breasts. Whether you have breast cancer or are having a prophylactic mastectomy to reduce your risk of getting breast cancer, breast reconstruction begins the day of your initial clinic visit. It culminates the day of surgery, on the canvas, the skin and tissue your plastic surgeon has to work with. The Journey from the Clinic to the Canvas A plastic surgeon begins to look at all aspects of the canvas. They work with different coloration from pale white to the deepest hues of browns and everything in between. Is the canvas rough, smooth, or does it have its own unique characteristics; previous scars, moles, stretch marks? What is the suppleness of the skin, the canvas? The surgeon might be working with young, taut skin, Continue Reading →

Patience and Persistence: Pregnancy Post-DIEP – Part 1

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When I found out in September 2014 my cousin had been diagnosed with breast cancer and subsequently found out in January 2015 that I am positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation, I felt like time was not on my side.  At the time my daughter was four years old and I had dreams of a second child.  However, my husband and I didn’t feel it was the right time to try.  Fast forward to early 2016, the time was finally right, and we began to try for baby number two.  We tried for two years with no success.  We even saw a fertility specialist and confirmed that we had all the right parts in all the right quantities to have another baby, we just needed more patience and persistence: pregnancy post-DIEP – part 1. By Spring 2018 I was wrapping up a Master’s degree and decided I just couldn’t wait Continue Reading →

Finding Trusted Breast Reconstruction Resources

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You are newly diagnosed with breast cancer, going through treatment, or just found out you carry a gene mutation and are at high risk of developing breast cancer. It seems important to begin  to explore all your options for breast reconstruction. Your mission, finding trusted breast reconstruction resources.   The thought of any surgery is scary to you. You have the information your health care team gave you. Now you want to talk with someone who really gets it but more importantly someone you can trust. Family and friends are there to support you but can sometimes feel smothering. They try their best to help and console you. Sometimes you need time away, to think, to formulate questions, to find firsthand experience about the choices you know you are facing. Can You Find Trusted Breast Reconstruction Resources in Facebook Groups? We live in the age of social media, so you Continue Reading →