Sometimes we like to have fun at DiepCFoundation. This video about the surgical loupes used in breast reconstruction was one of those moments. Dr. Ramon Garza of PRMA in San Antonio was kind enough to bring his surgical loupes for me to try on. Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo, his team member at PRMA, looked on with amusement when I tried to focus while maneuvering my hands to appreciate the magnification. What I noticed most was adjusting to the depth perception while I had the surgical loupes on.
Dr. Garza verified it takes a lot of training and hours spent in the operating room learning how to use the surgical loupes and the technical aspects of the surgery. He states the following:
- Good optics allow micro-surgeons to do what they do.
- The surgical loupes help to see very tiny, delicate structures.
- Function always overrides form in microsurgical breast reconstruction. The surgical loupes help them maintain function.
- The surgical loupes, among other tools plastic surgeons use, help them to spare nerves when they are doing an autologous (using your own tissue) type procedure.
- The loupes are 3.5 magnification.
- When doing the actual microsurgery of DIEP flap or other autologous breast reconstruction they use a microscope that goes up to 20X magnification.
- Using the microscope at that magnification allows them to see all the tiny structures using the fine optics during breast reconstruction surgery.
Are the Surgical Loupes Used to Tie Blood Vessels Together?
I asked Dr. Garza if the loupes were used for the anastomosis (tying together) of the blood vessels when the tissue is transferred from the tummy area to the breast mound. The answer was a definitive, “No”. However, it was interesting Dr. Chrysopoulo quickly chimed in with the statement, “Well, you can but at PRMA we don’t, but some surgeons do.”
I think this would be a question to ask your own plastic surgeon at your consult. Do you use surgical loupes or the high-powered microscope to tie together blood vessels during a DIEP flap breast reconstruction?
It gave me a new appreciation of the training required to learn how to use surgical loupes. I can only imagine what it must be like learning to use the high-powered microscope. As an educator, what stood out to me was the eye-hand coordination it takes to perfect the technique. Dr. C admitted in his great British accent, “Takes a little bit getting used to.”
We had a bit of fun at the end of the video when I asked what models they used in the labs to train and get used to the surgical loupes. Let’s just say a lot was left to my imagination after a few good giggles.