If a DIEP, TRAM or LD flap is not suitable, you may be offered reconstruction techniques that use fat and a blood supply from other areas of the body.
These include:
- superior gluteal artery perforator (SGAP) flap or inferior gluteal artery perforator (IGAP) flap using tissue from the bottom
- transverse myocutaneous gracilis (TMG) flap, transverse upper gracilis (TUG) flap or profunda artery perforator (PAP) flap using tissue from the inner thigh.
To help reconstruct a small breast shape, the surgeon may remove fat from another part of the body (liposuction), then inject it into the breast to create or improve the shape and contour.
→ READ MORE: Risks of having a flap reconstruction
Key resource
Download a PDF booklet on this topic.
More resources
Dr Jane O’Brien, Specialist Oncoplastic Breast Cancer Surgeon, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, VIC; Clare Bradshaw, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Breast Assessment Unit, Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA; Rene Hahn, Consumer; Sinead Hanley, Consumer; Dr Marc Langbart, Specialist Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Randwick Plastic Surgery, NSW; Melanie Law, Consumer; Sally Levy, Consumer; Annmaree Mitchell, Consumer; Ashleigh Mondolo, Breast Cancer Nurse Clinical Consultant, Mater Private Hospital Brisbane, QLD; Rochelle Osgood, Clinical Nurse Consultant – McGrath Breast Care Nurse, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, QLD: Dr Kallyani Ponniah, Head of Department, Breast Centre, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, WA; Meg Rynderman OAM, Consumer; Sarah Stewart, Breast Care Nurse, The Royal Women’s Hospital, VIC; Erin Tidball, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council NSW; Jane Turner, Senior Exercise Physiologist, Sydney Cancer Survivorship Centre, Concord Cancer Centre, NSW.
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