What to consider – flap reconstruction

Benefits

Drawbacks
  • Reconstruction is permanent once the breast has healed, even though additional treatment or follow-up surgeries are sometimes needed.
  • Most methods only use your own living tissue to create the breast. This often results in a more natural look and feel.
  • The flap maintains its look and feel over the long term and generally adjusts if your body weight changes.
  • Using your own tissue means there is no risk of possible rupture.
  • Less chance of long-term complications needing additional surgeries later in life.
  • The operation will take several hours and you may need to stay in hospital for about a week. Recovery takes longer than after an implant reconstruction as there is a wound at the site where the flap was taken and a breast wound to heal.
  • Risks include infection and the flap not healing properly.
  • Surgery usually causes more than one scar (but these fade).
  • Depending on the type of flap you may also need an implant.
  • DIEP and TRAM procedures can be done only once.
  • There is a small risk of hernia with abdominal flaps.

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Key resource

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Breast Prostheses and Reconstruction

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More resources

This information was last reviewed in July 2020. View who reviewed this content.

A/Prof Elisabeth Elder, Specialist Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon, Westmead Breast Cancer Institute and Clinical Associate Professor, The University of Sydney, NSW; Dragana Ceprnja, Senior Physiotherapist and Health Professional Educator, Westmead Hospital, NSW; Jan Davies, Consumer; Rosemerry Hodgkin, Consumer; Gillian Horton, Owner and Director, Colleen’s Lingerie and Swimwear, ACT; Ashleigh Mondolo, Clinical Nurse Consultant Breast Care Nurse, Mater Private Hospital South Brisbane, QLD; Dr Jane O’Brien, Specialist Oncoplastic Breast Cancer Surgeon, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, VIC; Moira Waters, Breast Care Nurse, Breast Cancer Care WA; Sharon Woolridge, Consumer; Rebecca Yeoh, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Queensland.

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