{"id":445,"date":"2010-04-14T16:21:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T16:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drkimplasticsurgery.com\/?p=615"},"modified":"2010-04-14T16:21:58","modified_gmt":"2010-04-14T16:21:58","slug":"microsurgical-breast-reconstruction-sought-by-independent-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drkimplasticsurgery.com\/blog\/microsurgical-breast-reconstruction-sought-by-independent-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction Sought by Independent Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to a recent article in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery<\/em><\/a>, an increasing number of breast cancer patients are independently seeking microsurgical breast reconstruction.<\/p>\n

Doctors surveyed over 300 women who had breast reconstruction performed at a single institution. Information was gathered about their age and demographic, but more importantly \u2013 their referral patterns and decision-making processes.<\/p>\n

The authors concluded that patients who sought microsurgical breast reconstruction were:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Independent decision-makers in their health care choices<\/li>\n
  2. Likely to use the internet to learn about breast reconstruction<\/li>\n
  3. More likely to self-refer to a reconstructive surgeon<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What is Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction?<\/h3>\n

    Authors of the study identified these procedures as part of the \u201chighly sought after\u201d group: Free TRAM flap<\/a>, DIEP Flap<\/a>, SIEA Flap and SGAP Flap. The key difference with these breast reconstruction procedures is the surgical reconnection of blood vessels from the donor site to the reconstructive site.<\/p>\n

    Resources<\/h3>\n