Vancouver Coastal Health delivers quality health services to the people and communities we serve. Read more...
| Type of reconstruction | TRAM | Tissue Expander | Latisimus dorsi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length of surgery | 3-4 hours | 1-1.5 hours | 3 – 4 hours |
| Hospital stay | 3 days | 1 day | 2 days |
| Drains remain in place |
5 – 14 days | 2 – 10 days | 5 – 14 days |
| Recovery at home | 6 - 12 weeks No strenuous exercise or heavy lifting to protect the stomach area |
2 – 4 weeks No strenuous exercise or heavy lifting. Limit arm motion on side of reconstruction |
3 – 4 weeks No strenuous exercise or heavy lifting |
| Scarring | 1. Breast at mastectomy site 2. Lower abdominal scar from hip to hip |
1. Scar is the same as the mastectomy scar | 1. At mastectomy site 2. On the back |
| Follow up visits | 2- 4 weeks unless problems dictate more frequent visits | 2- 4 weeks after surgery Every 2 weeks for expansion of the implant. This may take 4 – 12 weeks and then it will stay over inflated for 2 – 3 months. |
2 –4 weeks after surgery Every 6 weeks unless problems dictate more frequent visits |
| Follow-up surgeries | 1. Minor revisions to abdomen or breast to adjust size and shape. 2. Nipple reconstruction if desired 4 – 6 months following initial surgery. 3. Areola tattooing |
1. Replacement of tissue expander with permanent prosthesis under general anaesthetic. 2. Nipple reconstruction, if desired, 3 – 6 months after expansion is complete under local anaesthetic |
1. Nipple reconstruction, if desired, 4 – 6 months after initial surgery. 2. Areola tattooing |
| Complications | 1. problems with anaesthetic 2. infection 3. bleeding 4. seroma 5. delayed wound healing 6. abdominal hernia 7. fat necrosis 8. blood circulation problems 9. excessive scarring 10. muscle weakness 11. DVT/PE 12. breast asymmetry |
1. problems with anesthetic 2. infection 3. bleeding 4. seroma 5. delayed wound healing 6. excessive scarring 7. DVT/PE 8. capsular contracture 9. implant displacement 10. rupture 11. thinning of stretched skin 12. breast asymmetry |
1. problems with anesthetic 2. infection 3. bleeding 4. seroma 5. delayed wound healing 6. fat necrosis 7. excessive scarring 8. muscle weakness 9. DVT/PE 10. blood circulation problems 11. breast asymmetry |
| Read more | procedure details | procedure details | procedure details |