DIEP FLAP

A DIEP is a piece of tissue (flap) composed of fat and skin, taken from your lower tummy (abdomen), to create the feel and shape of a breast. The tissue and its blood vessels are carefully detached from your abdomen before being reconnected to a new blood supply in your chest. It is a complex operation that takes about five to seven hours.

DIEP flaps give a warm, soft and pliable reconstructed breasts that resemble natural breast tissue, so they are considered as the gold standard for breast reconstructive procedures. In addition, the removal of tissue from your abdomen results in a flatter tummy, as if you have had a tummy tuck (abdominoplasty).

After the skin, tissues and perforators (the flap) have been carefully dissected, the flap is connected to your chest using microsurgery. Mr Nanidis then shapes the flap to create the new breast. As no abdominal muscle is removed or transferred to the breast area you should experience less pain post-operatively and a faster recovery compared to other flap procedures. Abdominal strength is also maintained long-term after the DIEP flap procedure.

Because the surgery involved is very complex, few breast centres offer DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Mr Nanidis specialises in this procedure both in the NHS (at the Royal Marsden Hospital) and privately, and he has performed more than 500 DIEP flap cases in the last few years.

All breast reconstructions are a process of care that usually require two or more operations. When using the DIEP flap, whilst as much of the reconstruction is done at the time of the main flap transfer operation, there is often a need for a second smaller operation to refine and adjust the reconstruction, as well as undertake a nipple reconstruction. Despite the need for more than one operation, the result should be life-long and the reconstruction should age with you naturally. It should also change with your body weight in a similar way to your breast. This is one of the major differences between flaps and implants, as implant-based reconstructions frequently need revision surgery in the future.