Reducing Abdominal Complications: Diep Flap Breast Reconstruction
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ค. 2024
- Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo of PRMA in San Antonio, Texas, developer of the Breast Advocate app, discusses the measures and steps performed during Diep Flap breast reconstruction to reduce abdominal complications.
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I wish every woman watches this video before their DIEP surgery. Thank you Dr. C and Terri. 🙏🏼
Please feel free to share with those who might benefit 😉 You’re very welcome.
This was probably the most informative video I have watched so far for my upcoming DIEP surgery. I feel much more empowered now to discuss this surgery with my surgeons. Well done!
I couldn’t be happier to hear this! You had me at “empowered”! Best wishes on your surgery Theresa!
I am a lactation consultant in my 40’s with my friends moving out of lactation questions and moving into breast cancer information. These videos are a wealth of knowledge, I had never heard of this surgery. Thank you for educating the masses, these videos are easy to understand and very informative!
Thank you Chris.
Thanks son much for this, Dr. Crysopoulo and Dr. Pisano from PRMA were my surgeons on my DIEP in 2013, I am so happy I decided to do it with them, it looks great!!
I’m very happy to hear this Maria.
Thank you so very much for posting these, so helpful! Heading in to my DIEP in a little less than a month. I appreciate your efforts!
You are very welcome Melissa! Wishing you all the best for your upcoming surgery 🌸💕
Thank you, doctor C, this was an incredible video. I appreciate all the knowledge.
I will pass this along to him. Thank you.
This is incredibly informative. I had no knowledge of the questions to ask back in 2015. For the ladies who need this surgery in the future, they now have fabulous questions to ask the surgeon. Thank you Dr C for your diagram and your explanation.
Thanks for your kind remarks.
Thank You so much for this! I see the plastic surgeon this week and this helps me so much!!!
I am very happy to hear this and wish you all the best in your personal Journey as you move forward!
I had diep flap surgery w/ immediate reconstruction over 3 years ago. I've mostly healed well. But have had some recurring problems with spasms in my belly. So strong that my PS prescribed Valium.
Good news is that we decided to try PT. To address the problem.
My successful sessions ended in October and I've not had an attack since mid-Sept! They gave me tools to deal with it when it starts to happen;. Deep massage, stretching and strengthening my abdominal area. Great to have the tools! Not really a question here, just wanted to share a success story. Now the PT unit has developed a pre-operative lymphadema program to strengthen before Op. I love my team! And thank you for the informational videos
I am super happy to hear this Linda. Thank you for sharing this valuable information. Best wishes to you.
Fabulous information! I love the indepth details of when/why an apex flap is needed and how it’s done. It’s these details I’m looking for. Thank you for your dedication to sharing information! Unfortunately my first consult didn’t go well because I asked questions that obviously were not expected nor wanted. I have a second consult coming up with another ps in the practice so hoping it goes better.
Best of luck Julie and happy to hear the information on the video helped. Thanks for your comment.
Incredibly helpful. THANK-YOU!
I’m very happy to hear this Crystal. You’re most welcome.
I don’t want to get off topic but I have some unique challenges and questions without answers. May I contact you?
This is a key point in your decision about your surgeon.
I couldn’t agree more! It was for me.
Thanks
Welcome
I am waiting and hoping to get my surgery soon. Insurance keeps rejecting the request saying there is an issue with the cancer codes that they are using???. I hope my appointment gets set in the next few days. Thanks for all the info you cover on your channel.
Would love to hear more from Dr. C on how to prepare for surgery. I have 8 weeks. I will be doing a DIEP flap to replace a large portion of the skin on my chest that has been damaged from severe radiation. I had TNBC that moved into my skin 18 months after my original diagnosis. I will also be opting for double mastectomy (single radical mastectomy will be required) and aesthetic flat closure.
Hi Katrina. I interview other surgeons and actually have this interview on my schedule with another Microsurgeon on the DiepCJourney podcast over on Spotify. Stay tuned and you’ll see it in late September. I’ll add your comments to our interview.
I don’t understand why a lot people are talking bad about other peoples who decided to get breast reconstruction . If you decided to go flat good for you , please don’t judge other peoples decisions, like me I’m 28 years old with a mastectomy on my right side I don’t kids yet or married yet , if I decided to get in other breast. Why would anybody judge me for that smh . Do better peoples
This is so helpful! Would/could you tighten the abdominal muscles like you would in an abdomnioplascty while doing a DIEP flap surgery ( for a woman like me who has delivered seven children vaginally and has significant distention of those muscles? I am age 63 and hope to have DIEP flap reconstruction since I have Allergen textured implants that I want removed? Also, you do en bloc explant surgery ALWAYS or just when requested?
If you do, would it be sent to pathology?
Hello Caroline. Repairing diastasis recti, which I believe you are referring to is a patient by patient case and also depends on the skill and decision of the plastic surgeon you go to for DIEP flap. En bloc explant, again, it depends if the entire capsule needs to be taken out. Again, a discussion to have with the plastic surgeon who performs your surgery as the entire capsule does not always need to be removed. This is not my expertise but I know these are questions you should ask and also if they will send any of the sample to pathology. This is usually done when a woman is symptomatic of and BII (breast implant illness). Have you watch the video entitled: Implant Reconstruction to Tissue Breast Reconstruction? Here is a link: th-cam.com/video/xHdn956wsjw/w-d-xo.html
Hello. Thank you for the very interesting video. I have a small atrophy of the muscle after my diep. Will this repair itself? I have started doing core work and hoping this will correct it? Many thanks for some good advise. Patricia
Patricia, if you have muscle atrophy I would consult a physical therapist to see how you can work other muscles surrounding the atrophied muscle so movement and functionality is not compromised.
Change that. Move that dial, girl! Keep giving us the educated real- and WE WILL up our game.
That's the plan Shana. Education is empowerment!
Hi Terri and Dr. C! I have a few questions. Thank you so much for this very informative video! It’s exactly what I was looking for and I appreciate the questions to ask my surgeon as well as the super specific ones! I appreciate this information immensely.
Small background: I am going on 2 years post double skin sparing mastectomy. I had 32 rounds of radiation to my left side. I have been smoking. Vape pen. I’m stopping after seeing this! My appointment is in either August or September with MDA In Houston.
1. I had an emergency appendectomy in 1997. I still get spasms from time to time when I engage the muscle. Is that something to worry about? I forgot to mention this in my consult. I had the CT angiogram so they can see my blood flow. I’m assuming if they saw a complication I would have been made aware? Is there anything I can do to help with this? 2. Also, with the smoking - I quit right now, will this still affect me negatively and cause a higher risk of complications? I know stopping immediately will reduce that risk, but, should I be worried? Is there anything I can do to reduce those complications besides stopping? Should I tell my plastic surgeon?
3. Finally, I am having a lymph node transfer done at the same time to address the MDA stage 4 (level 2) lymphedema in my left arm & hand. This will be done by another plastic/micro surgeon who specializes in this. This doc says both teams will work on me in tandem and this should reduce the amount of time I am under. His team will help the other. It sounds great in theory, but I worry about the thought of possible mistakes due to a “too many cooks in the kitchen” sort of thing. I hope I’m just overthinking. These teams work together often from what I have been told. Are there any certain questions I should ask, scenarios I should ask them to avoid or perform? Specifics for recovery I should be prepped for or ask about? Any pointers or insight would be so helpful. I don’t want to insinuate that I don’t trust them and possibly ruffle anyone’s ego feathers. (Not that this has been shown. I’m just trying to be cautious).
I appreciate you reading this and hopefully replying. I’m so nervous and don’t know what to expect. It would alleviate a lot of pressure and worry if I heard more from an outside expert and source. Thank you so much for sharing everything with those of us in the dark and being a great source of knowledge and light. ❤🙏🏼 Amber
I will be getting DIEP on both sides!
This have been extremely informative. My question is it normal for surgical clips to be left in the abdominal area after the diep flap have been performed?
Surgical clips are frequently left during many types of surgery, including DIEP.
I have a bulging after diep flap. What are my options to get rid of it? I go to gym and work out very hard 5 days a week, I don’t see any improvement. I also have some cramps that sometimes they are very strong and sometimes I can control them. Please tell me if I have any options to get rid of the bulge? I’ve been thinking of getting a 2nd option. Thank you ❤
Will strengthening your abdominal muscles before surgery help prevent a hernia?
Prevention of hernia depends on many things, but preventing a hernia isn’t necessarily connected to abdominal exercise prior to DIEP flap.
Do you think strengthening ab muscles before surgery is important?
Hi Marshelle. To be honest, I think having strong core muscles is important with or without having this surgery. There are many benefits for you. So to answer your question, it will certainly assist you during recovery. I also recommend doing leg strengthening exercise like small but effective squats. You will be using your legs to get up and down. Hope this helps.
THe second surgery I had was because too much muscle was cut and only fat should be cut so an incisional hernia came out and no one wanted to fix my hernia It wasso big . The second surgery the surgeon had to take out 24 inches off my upper intestines and now I have many digestive problems when i travel and I have to be very careful what i eat
I'm so sorry this has happened to you Esmeralda and you have long term side affects. I hope you have found some good management techniques so you can travel and go about daily life with not too much discomfort.
So do surgeons always know when they are cutting the motor nerve?
can the motor nerve only be cut if cutting muscle or can it be cut by some other means trying to access the vessels? Like maybe cutting through the various layers to get to the muscle where the perforator vessels are?
Also I’ve been told not all insurance companies will cover nerve grafting. So if it’s cut and insurance doesn’t cover nerve grafting then it’s not repaired. Sorry so many questions. 😬😉
Julie, the hope is a skilled microsurgery can tell when they see a motor nerve. If it is cut, and sometime it happens, it is important it is repaired at the time of DIEP. Because the nerve graft is still in a multi-center study across the U.S. some insurance companies still consider it experimental and why it is not always covered. Hope this helps.
My stomach has never been the same since having this surgery. I feel that it's hard to find anyone that could tell me what has happened so I haven't pursued it. It almost is an insult to go through so much for re construction to have breast but on the same hand I lost another thing having the stomach issues I have had, I am not trusting of any surgeons now. Be careful when deciding about this surgery, mine was a 15 HR sugery.
I'm really sorry to hear this Charlotte. Not knowing what "stomach problems" you are having, if you feel you need to be evaluated further I would encourage that. There is another video on the channel, "Abdominal Wall Reconstruction" if you feel you are having any symptoms described in that video with two surgeons who perform this repair routinely with success. I know it would mean another surgery but I wanted to provide that resource. It is important to ask questions during consults and why we are so appreciative at the DiepC Foundation TH-cam channel we can have conversations with physicians to empower those going through this with the vocabulary to ask those questions. Thanks so much for subscribing and for your honest comments.
Had my DIEP 4/2/21 been having complications and you find these videos with everyone having roses recovery so not true..
My surgery was 15hr and my stomach healing terribly
Can they fix a hernia, if you should get one after surgery?
It can be done Jenny. Finding a surgeon who is successful and has done this frequently is important. I suggest watching this video on the DiepCFoundation channel for more information: th-cam.com/video/mOm9vVnQ_ww/w-d-xo.html
Do you have any video on double stacked DIEP Flap breast reconstruction? Thanks.
This may be what you are looking for. Dr. Matatov works out of the Phoenix area. A fine microsurgeon! th-cam.com/video/UYm1lzF2hpI/w-d-xo.html
@@DiepCFoundation Thanks! :)
@@DiepCFoundation Have you got any testimonials of any patients who have done this? Thanks for the informative video 🤗
Following about surgery videos of stacked flap.
@@auditioningbyheartcrystalc3070 So I finally had my double stacked DIEP flap done months ago... the recovery was brutal. I am more or less healed and my reconstructed breast is looking really good. But till today, my abdomen still feels very taut and I often can't even breathe as deep as I would like to. Surgeons took as much as they could which is the little that I had,and they practically had to pull the bottom and top of my abdomen and sew it up, making it super tight. This is not helping on top of the anxiety that I am fighting against. Scar-wise they are all flat and good but the pigmentation is quite dark for the abdomen and I hope it will lighten well over time. The tightness giving shallow breathing is the hardest to deal with. I try my best to wear very loose clothes so it can help my breathing better. I am waiting for the stage 2 where I get a breast implant on the right side to even out the breasts, as well as nipple reconstruction. Hope you are traveling well.
Hi, I’ve been fighting multiple sclerosis since 2002 and I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2020 I went through chemo and mastectomy and now I am going to have breast reconstruction done in November this year, and I was just wondering if you have had any experiences with patients who had multiple sclerosis and cancer and went through a diep flap?
Hello Jen. I can inquire with this surgeon and get back to you.
What Doctors do a repair if a bulge occurs years later? Thanks...
There is a video on this channel that deals with abdominal wall repair with two surgeons that repair bulges and hernias.
I guess I’m not a good candidate. I’ve had a partial hysterectomy, umbilical hernia and 11 csections. I’m glad I decided to go flat before watching this video.
What about pain in the abdomen after diep flap that is occurring 2 years after surgery?
It is intermitten and occurs 7weeks apart . Short severe spasms no hernia or abnormalities observed. Surgeon has prescribed Valium for the episodes when they mount to convulsive, like a fist twisting inside
Have you asked/inquired with a physician about possible scar adhesion? This can be painful. A lymphedema therapist can be beneficial in working with this build up of scar tissue that happens after any surgery.
@@DiepCFoundation I have been working with a physical therapist whose specialty is working w/pelvic & abdominal pain. She's deep massaging to losen the fascia in the area. Also teaching me stretching techniques for the Area. We're hoping We're onto something
@@lindadougherty7091 I certainly hope so, too!
Do you think abdominal exercises will help leading up to the DIEP Flap surgery to move the fats from the abdomen? To help strengthen the muscles? 🤔 Thanks so much for the video. 🙏
It never hurts to exercise any part of the body. However, I highly suggest getting your legs strong before DIEP flap to help assist getting up and down from the seated position and out of bed since your arms will have limited mobility for a couple of weeks after DIEP. Hope this helps. Thanks for being a subscriber.
@@DiepCFoundation 😯😯😯 Thanks!! 💖
I was the 1%. I wish I had seen this video before my surgery. I got a huge ventral hernia. I am 5 years post surgery and have a huge bulge and cannot wear pants. What are my options now?
I'm really sorry to hear this DeAnna. Have you viewed the video on this channel about abdominal wall reconstruction? You may want to watch it to find out more how hernia repair can be done.
Same.. 5 years in and its like i'm a prisoner in my body... no waist the lower abdominal pain.
I had my DIEP flap surgery in March and now I have a bulge. Need to have another surgery to remedy it
I wish you all the best to get this repaired Ritu.
Is your doctor planning to place a mesh? I am asking because I have a bulging too and my doc said if I want to get rid of it I need a big mesh from to hip to hip. I do let want that.
I know its good to do research into finding a cure but they need to find out whats causing cancer.
This is the ultimate goal and a challenge indeed Stephany.