DIEP flap breast reconstruction surgery usually requires a hospital stay of 5–10 days. After a DIEP flap breast reconstruction: the reconstructed breast(s) will be monitored carefully, every 30–60 minutes for the first day or so.
DIEP flap surgery requires a hospital stay of about five days. Recovery can take from six to eight weeks. Keep the area clean, dry, and protected, and follow your surgical team's instructions on when to start walking, stretching exercises, and regular daily activities.
The DIEP Flap breast reconstruction procedure is a highly sophisticated procedure that requires more recovery than other forms of breast reconstruction. Following the procedure, the patient should expect to remain in the hospital for approximately three to five days.
Following surgery, you will recover in the ICU at the hospital for up to five days. During this time, the doctors and nurses will closely monitor the blood circulation in the tissue transfer to ensure that it remains healthy. Prior to your surgery, you will need to make preparations for your at-home recovery.
As with any major surgery, DIEP flap surgery also has risks. Common risks from major surgeries can include excessive bleeding, infection, the wound opening, asymmetry, and deep vein thrombosis.
Breast reconstruction with a flap is surgery to rebuild the shape of your breast after you've had part or all of your breast removed because of cancer. Right after the surgery, you will probably feel weak, and you may feel pain for 2 to 3 weeks. You will be sore in the breast and in the area where the flap was taken.
You can expect: Numbness in your reconstructed breast and belly, which may take up to a year to go away. Soreness and pain around your abdomen and chest, which should go away after about two weeks. Swelling around your reconstructed breast, underarm and belly for a few weeks.
DIEP Flap (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap)
The surgery uses the patient's own abdominal skin and fat (similar to a tummy tuck/abdominoplasty) to reconstruct a natural, warm, soft breast after mastectomy. Unlike the pedicled TRAM flap, the DIEP flap preserves all abdominal muscles.
In order to close the stomach incision, the upper abdominal tissue is stretched down to meet the lower part of the incision. The skin ends up covering the belly button, so a new hole must be created to expose it. I now have a small circular scar that surrounds my “new” (and improved) belly button.
Please arrange for a responsible adult to drive you home and stay with you for (at least) the first 24 hours. 2. Sleeping position. For three days after surgery sleep on your back elevated with 2 pillows.
The abdomen will be tight and much flatter in appearance. The majority of swelling will subside in 3-4 weeks, but some swelling may persist for up to 3 months.
Wound care:
Only sponge bathing is allowed until all the drains have been removed. Do not soak in tub for at least 2 weeks after surgery and pat the skin dry afterwards.
Wear breast and abdomen compression garments from the time you begin to start getting up in hospitals. You will need to wear the garments every time you are up and about, for 6 weeks after the surgery.
It is common to experience some pain following gum flap surgery. Some people also get anxiety issues about their perception of pain after the surgery.
Depending on the location and size of the flap, the operation can be carried out under general or local anaesthetic. As flap surgery allows the blood supply to the repaired area to be maintained, there's a lower risk of the repair failing compared with a skin graft.
A disadvantage of a DIEP flap, compared to implants, is the need for two surgical sites (the breast and the belly), which may increase the amount of pain and the length of recovery time. The surgery also results in a scar across the lower abdomen.
Possibility of implant failure
Your body may even reject a breast implant since it is a foreign body. With DIEP flap reconstruction, this risk goes down since your own tissue is used. Most women choose this method since they don't want to deal with ongoing issues in case they chose breast implants.
There is also a small risk of tissue rejection or loss due to blood supply issues, a loss of sensation in the areas which have been operated on. Other side effects to be aware of include long term abdominal strength issues and the possibility of fluid build-up.
That said, each DIEP Flap patient will experience some weight reduction and tightening as an added benefit of the procedure. So a better way to say it could be that a DIEP Flap breast reconstruction gives you more of a “mini-tummy tuck.”
Some women don't have enough belly tissue to be good candidates for DIEP reconstruction. Typically they've had to use either an implant or tissue from other sources, such as the hip or thighs, to reconstruct the breasts. If you're in this group, you would need to do this if you're having both breasts reconstructed.
Because DIEP surgery uses natural tissue, your new breast should change with your body. If you gain or lose weight, for example, you'll see those changes in the breast, too. You'll have a scar across your lower abdomen, around the belly button, and on your newly built breast.
DIEP flap or tissue flap breast reconstruction can be performed immediately following a mastectomy or as delayed reconstruction. Patients will be given general anesthesia before surgery. The surgery takes four to six hours, but it can take longer if performed along with a mastectomy.
Cosmetic DIEP flap breast augmentation procedures range from $38,500 to $50,000, with average pricing between $40,000 and $46,000.