Breast Reconstruction

Breast reconstruction is an operation to try to get back the shape of the breast after mastectomy (removal of a breast), or lumpectomy (removal of part of the breast). One in eight women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer during their lifetime. When mastectomy is a part of the treatment plan, many special concerns arise. One of the foremost fears is often that of permanent disfigurement. Recent advances in breast reconstruction have addressed many of these issues with sophisticated procedures that allow for restoration of the body and sense of wholeness.

Free Flap: reconstruction, in which skin and fat from your lower abdomen, or occasionally buttock, is grafted to the breast area. The skin and fat is completely removed from the original area and a new blood supply is created for the new breast tissue, using microsurgery.
DIEP FLAP: Perforator flaps represent the state of the art in breast reconstruction. Replacing the skin and soft tissue removed at mastectomy with soft, warm, living tissue is accomplished by borrowing skin and fatty tissue from the abdomen. This is accomplished without sacrifice of the abdominal muscles as compared to the conventional TRAM flap.
SIEA FLAP: In some women the superficial vessels in the abdominal fatty tissue provide the dominant source of blood flow to this region. In those cases the SIEA (superficial inferior epigastric artery) may be chosen as the source of blood supply for the borrowed tissue necessary to reconstruct the breast. The procedure is otherwise the same as the DIEP procedure.

Inverted Nipples Correction

Inverted nipples are a relatively common problem with both men and women. The inverted nipples are flat and do not protrude the way a normal nipple does. Sometimes they can appear pinched, folded inward or somewhat sunken. For women with inverted nipples, it may be very difficult and also painful to nurse an infant. Tightened milk ducts actually pull the nipple inward causing it to appear flat or sunken. In some cases surgery to correct inverted nipples will make future breastfeeding impossible because the milk ducts will be detached.

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Scar Revision/Scar Repair

Surgical procedure to improve or minimize the appearance of scars, restore function, and correct disfigurement resulting from an injury, lesion, or previous surgery. The modalities employed to make scars less noticeable include changing scar direction so it lies within a normal skin crease or fold, debulking procedures, scar taping, scar massage, local steroid injection, medical grade skin tattoos (such as tattooing a beard stubble on a man to hide a scar), dermabrasion, collagen injections, chemical peels, cryosurgery, application of a pressure dressing or silastic sheeting, laser treatments and separation of the skin scar from deeper structures. The collective term for these is scar revision, repair, treatment or surgery.

Skin Cancer

Skin cancer refers to the abnormal, uncontrolled growth of skin cells. One in five people will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Risk factors include pale skin, family history of melanoma, being over 40 years old, and regular sun exposure. Fortunately, skin cancer is almost always curable if detected and treated early.

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Labia Minora Reduction

An enlarged labium minus can be bothersome for functional, aesthetic, and social reasons. Labia minora hypertrophy can be congenital or acquired by chronic irritation, exogenous androgenic hormones, or stretching with weights. This can cause inflammation, poor hygiene, interference with sexual intercourse, or intermittent urinary self-catheterization in myelodysplastic women.

Burn Care and Wound Care

Burn injuries cause damage to skin cells that may vary greatly in depth, size and severity. Common causes include fire, hot liquids, household chemicals, and the sun or other radiation source. It is often difficult for the body to heal burns, so they may become infected or cause permanent scarring.

Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Cleft lip and cleft palate are two conditions that occur in approximately one in every eight hundred births. These conditions are categorized by a separation of the lips (cleft lip) and/or a separation in the roof of the mouth (cleft palate). This abnormality occurs during the fetus' early stages of development. The severity of the deformity varies, however reconstructive surgery helps to correct this birth defect.

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