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Latissimus Dorsi Muscle Flap – Breast Reconstruction Surgery
The third method uses the back muscle (latissimus dorsi muscle) as a soft tissue and skin cover for the implant which provides volume. An oblique incision is made in the back, the muscle is raised with an ellipse of skin paddle. The flap is tunneled subcutaneously into the chest to create a soft tissue envelope. An expander or implant is then placed in the new chest pocket to provide appropriate volume to balance the opposite breast. If an expander is placed, it will be expanded over the next few months to stretch the skin envelope.
The procedure takes about 4 hours under general anaesthesia and hospitalization for about 2 days is required. The expander is then replaced with a permanent implant after the full expansion is achieved and after all the adjuvant treatment for breast cancer has been done.
