Category: Finding A Surgeon

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

The Latest on BIA-ALCL and What A Patient Advocate Reports to Her Community 

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The Latest on BIA-ALCL and What A Patient Advocate Reports to Her Community As a patient advocate for breast reconstruction I am often asked questions about recent findings and reports in the news. This week I was asked questions about the latest NBC News article, and the same topic reported in other media outlets. Theses stories were on the safety of breast implants and a rare disease, BIA-ALCL, Breast Implant-associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. I listened attentively as I watched the nightly news and read articles across other media venues. I immediately thought to myself, this was going to understandably stir concern and controversy in my community. It did. I was asked questions about the reports presented this week in the news media from women who currently have implants or are planning to for breast reconstruction after breast cancer. My immediate concern was to calm their fears and share what I Continue Reading →

The Role of Caregiver in Breast Reconstruction: Expectations vs. Reality

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The Role of Caregiver in Breast Reconstruction: Expectations vs. Reality I am honored to present my son, Rich, and the plastic surgeon, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo, who performed my DIEP flap breast reconstruction. The video in this blog is a great conversation between the two men. We sat down together recently at Plastic Surgery the Meeting 2018, in Chicago. The two men had never met before the conference. But, they felt they knew enough about each other to have a very comfortable conversation regarding the role of care giver in breast reconstruction. The Caregiver Meets the Surgeon I planned a surprise meeting of these two gentlemen the evening we arrived in Chicago for the conference. I walked into a restaurant we arranged to meet at for dinner and Rich waited around the corner in order to surprise Dr. C. I went in first to greet Dr. C and give him a Continue Reading →

Sharing the Emotional Night I Was Awarded Patient of Courage

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Some moments in life are forever etched in your memory. The evening of September 28, 2018, at the Navy Pier in Chicago is one of those moments for me. I want to share the emotional night I was one of three recipients awarded the Patient of Courage from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons at their annual meeting, PSTM18. The Anticipation Was Worth the Wait! I received news in the spring I was the 2018 recipient of the Patient of Courage Award. I was nominated by the plastic surgeon who performed my DIEP flap breast reconstruction, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio. The process was a bit like waiting for Christmas, keeping the secret, enjoying all the preparation, and finally celebrating the evening. The fantastic ASPS media crew scheduled a trip to my home in Arizona mid-August to film my story in a YouTube video. Until the video Continue Reading →

5 Things to Share: My Delayed DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction

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I am often inspired to write while reading blogs from other sites, reading research papers, or after speaking to patients who ask questions about my experience having delayed DIEP flap breast reconstruction. This week is a mix of all three. I saw a post on the Facebook page from the plastic surgeon I chose for my surgery. The title of the blog post read: Patient Reported Outcomes After Immediate and Delayed DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction. ~ PRMA Plastic Surgery The blog references an evidence-based study from Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. It states: The BREAST-Q is an universally accepted tool for evaluation of quality of life and satisfaction in breast surgery. The aim of our study was to identify differences in patient-reported outcomes in immediate and delayed reconstruction with DIEP flap.  ~ Plastic Reconstructive Surgery  During conversations as a patient advocate, I speak to women who ask me to describe what my Continue Reading →

Who is Responsible? Aesthetic Outcomes of Breast Reconstruction Surgery

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It is an important topic to discuss. Who is responsible for the aesthetic outcomes of breast reconstruction surgery? The headline in the September 6, 2018, online article from Cosmopolitan reads: These Cancer Patients Wanted to Get Rid of Their Breasts for Good. Their Doctors Had Other Ideas. It is an emotionally filled article from women who chose to go flat. These women woke up after surgery with results that left them angered, saddened, disappointed, and fighting a battle to find out how to change things. In fact, on September 8, 2018, the article mentioned: … she’s organizing the first Not Putting On a Shirt Nationwide Walk in Cleveland, Ohio, in which women will join her to march topless and raise awareness around the issue. A sister march will be held in Los Angeles in the same day. The article speaks of women who chose to remain flat after their mastectomy Continue Reading →

DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction: Value of a Team Approach

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DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction: Value of a Team Approach Researching a highly skilled, board certified microsurgeon is the first and most important step in your DIEP flap breast reconstruction process. But what additional criteria might you look for? After having a detailed, shared decision-making conversation with my breast surgeon, I soon realized in DIEP flap breast reconstruction there was great value in a team approach. There are microsurgeons who work as a team during DIEP flap breast reconstruction for a variety of reasons. After my double mastectomy I researched several plastic surgeons across the United States viewing their websites to find those who work as a team. I wanted both team members, the microsurgeons, to be highly skilled and have a high rate of success.  There is other criteria I have listed on my resource page under the heading, “Board Certified Plastic Surgeons by Region”. These suggestions should also be Continue Reading →

Your Hospital Prep the Morning of Breast Reconstruction

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You are diagnosed with breast cancer or are having a prophylactic mastectomy due to a gene mutation putting you at high risk for breast cancer. You spent days, weeks, or perhaps months talking to others and researching the best plastic surgeon because you have decided to have breast reconstruction. Now it’s the morning of surgery and it’s time for your hospital prep. You enter the hospital early in the morning, sometimes before the break of dawn. You have eaten very little. A hundred thoughts run through your head knowing you will soon be put to sleep while your breasts are removed and replaced with either implants or your own tissue. The shower and prep with the antibacterial soap you are instructed to use the morning of surgery is complete. You feel like you are squeaky clean from tip to toe. You might wish you could have on makeup and deodorant. Continue Reading →

1900 Patients Share Stories About Breast Reconstruction

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Three short years ago in the summer of 2015, I opened a Facebook page dedicated to serve the breast reconstruction community. The Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/diepcjourney/ grew organically by word of mouth. We started out small, as so many new social media sites do. It is growing daily and now 1900 Patients Share Stories About Breast Reconstruction. What Do We Share? Think about this. You have just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Now you face the tsunami of information about to flood your brain; lab reports and waiting on results, treatment options, surgery, lumpectomy, mastectomy. Some days you feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, or even jubilant. Who will understand all these feelings? Who do I talk to who has been on this Journey? Think about this. You are told your best treatment option is to have a mastectomy. Perhaps, for peace of mind, you decide to have a prophylactic mastectomy because you Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction. Taking Control Despite the Risks and Complications

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Patients who chose breast reconstruction often feel they are taking control despite the risks and complications associated with the surgery. I hear comments from patients after having breast reconstruction who have encountered complications including, seromas, wound healing issues, hernias, multiple surgeries, and yet, are very happy with their decision to reconstruct their breasts. Many feel it gave them control. Why? It gave them the opportunity to rebuild a body part lost after being diagnosed with breast cancer or deciding on prophylactic surgery due to a genetic mutation. An article in the New York Times reported on complications after various types of breast reconstruction surgeries including both implants and numerous forms of autologous (using your own tissue) reconstruction. A multicenter cohort study referenced in the article in JAMA stated: Reconstruction may be associated with a high risk for complications, but successful reconstruction may still be achieved in most patients. Women electing Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction: Seromas Evaluation and Treatment

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We looked at the pre and post-operative assessment of seromas after breast reconstruction in a previous blog and video. Here, Drs. Minas Chrysopoulo and Ramon Garza III of PRMA in San Antonio explain to the viewer how to evaluate and treat a seroma if it occurs after breast reconstruction. Seromas form because of your body’s natural healing processes. Think of a wound you get on the outside of your body. The body produces fluid as part of the healing process. You see fluid as with a scraped knee or a burn. Imagine the wound on the inside of your body that forms because of surgery. Your body is going to produce fluid internally due to the trauma of surgery. This fluid must be managed. Dr. C, as his patients refer to him, explains a seroma can happen anywhere someone has surgery. In breast reconstruction this can be in the breast Continue Reading →