Reconstructive Breast Surgery Team

We offer over 20 years of combined experience in Microsurgical Free Tissue Transfers for Breast Reconstruction.

We perform the DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator) Flap, the SIEA (Superficial Inferior Epigastric Artery) Flap, the Gluteal Flap, and the TUG (Transverse Upper Gracillis) Flap for Breast Reconstruction. We perform these flaps in high volume, working closely with our operating room team, anesthesiologists, the ICU and floor team for postoperative care. We use the latest monitoring technologies for flap survival and the newest pain management devices for a comfortable postoperative experience.

The Team approach offers patients the highest standard of patient care for safety and high success, shortened operating times, and superb results.
Our team is comprised of UCSF (University of California-San Francisco) full time plastic surgeons and clinical faculty with significant expertise in reconstructive microsurgery.

The Team:

Dr. David Chang
http://plastic.surgery.ucsf.edu/faculty/david-chang-md.aspx

Dr. Scott L. Hansen
http://plastic.surgery.ucsf.edu/faculty/scott-hansen-md.aspx

Dr. Charles K. Lee
http://www.lplasticsurgery.com/about.html

Dr. David M. Young
http://plastic.surgery.ucsf.edu/faculty/david-m-young-md.aspx

Serving: The San Francisco Bay Area, Northern California, US, National, International, Asia

In the News: Microsurgery at St.Mary's Medical Center, San Francisco

Innovative Breast Reconstruction at St. Mary's Medical Center
Business Wire, Oct 18, 2007

Microsurgical Procedure to Use Patient's Own Tissue to Construct New Breasts

SAN FRANCISCO -- The skilled plastic surgeons at St. Mary's Medical Center now offer a new breast reconstruction procedure called Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforation (DIEP) flap. According to Dr. Charles Lee, director of microsurgery at St. Mary's, an upcoming surgery on November 4 will be the first time a double DIEP procedure will be performed at St. Mary's Medical Center.
This microsurgery procedure is a significant improvement because it allows surgeons to rebuild breast tissue using the patient's own skin, fat and blood vessels while preserving the abdominal muscle, which is commonly used in other types of flaps.
"Performing reconstruction with the patient's own tissue offers many advantages," said Dr. Lee. "Microsurgery means a faster recovery and the breast will look and feel more natural than with implants."
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to the American Breast Cancer Foundation, more than 1.6 million breast cancer survivors are alive in the U.S. today. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, more than 56,000 breast reconstructive surgeries were performed in 2006. DIEP flap procedures accounted for more than 3,500 of them. This is almost double the 1,909 DIEP reconstructions performed in 2005.
"Dr. Lee is one of a select number of plastic surgeons in the country performing this kind of specialized microsurgery," said Ken Steele, president of St. Mary's Medical Center. "St. Mary's has been at the forefront of medical innovation in San Francisco for 150 years and we're proud that our surgeons are continuing that tradition."
About St. Mary's Medical Center
For 150 years, St. Mary's Medical Center has provided the Bay Area with compassionate, personalized care combined with the latest advances in medical care and cutting-edge technology.
St. Mary's is a full-service acute care facility with more than 575 physicians and 1,100 employees who provide high-quality and affordable health care services to the Bay Area community. Home to advanced medical practices, such as the nation's first digital cardiac catheterization laboratory, pioneering spine surgery and comprehensive rehabilitation, St. Mary's Medical Center is one of San Francisco's leading hospitals, offering patients a full range of outpatient and inpatient services delivered with the human touch. For more information, please call (415) 668-1000 or visit http://www.stmarysmedicalcenter.org.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Business WireCOPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning

What is Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction?

There are several ways to reconstruct the breast after mastectomy for breast cancer. The two main categories are 1. Implant (silicone gel, tissue expansion, saline) 2. Autologous Tissue (your own body tissues). There are advantages and disadvantages with both types, however, as reconstructive plastic surgeons, we have a bias toward using your own natural tissues (Autologous Tissue) to create the most natural and long lasting breast mound. Plastic Surgery has evolved now to the point where we can take blocks of tissue from another part of the body and "transplant" them elsewhere to reconstruct another part. This ability to move these blocks of tissue hinges specifically on the ability of the surgeon to transplant this block of tissue on blood vessles and nerves, and "reconnecting" them to the new area. This is very similar to the concept of organ transplanation where the kidney or heart is reconnected to the body on their main blood vessels.
Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction is a technique that has become available in the past 20 years, and recently further refined by dedicated plastic surgeons to move highly specific blocks of tissue (mainly abdominal, butocks, and thigh--skin and fat--on an artery and vein), and transplant them to the breast area. Because of the technical expertise required to perform this operation, only a few plastic surgeons perform these operations on a regular basis.
This has created a demand to find surgeons who can provide optimal outcomes for breast reconstruction.
Microsurgical breast reconstruction has become synonymous now with the terms DIEP flap, SIEA, GAP, and TUG flaps. These are "perforator" flaps which are technical terms for the same concept of "transplanting" tissue blocks.