Lisa Wright – Breast Cancer And Breast Reconstruction Surgery Success Story
Au naturel
Methodist Richardson Now Offers Breast Reconstruction Without Implants
Lisa Wright is now cancer-free after an
advanced breast reconstruction procedure
at Methodist Richardson Medical Center.
In late summer 2015, Lisa Wright was finally getting back on track. She and her husband had recently moved back to Texas, and it was time to make up the doctor appointments she’d missed during the transition. One of those included her annual mammogram.
Unfortunately, the results were not as she’d hoped.
“Lisa had calcifications sprinkled throughout the breast,” says
Jenevieve Hughes, MD, FACS, breast surgeon on the medical staff at
Methodist Richardson Cancer Center. “Most of them ended up being benign, but there were multiple areas
of concern.”
The moment Lisa met Dr. Hughes, she knew the surgeon could help her make the best choices for her cancer care. “I was in a mode of gathering information and wanted to find out what I needed to do to eradicate this disease from my body,” she says.
A mastectomy for the left breast was recommended, but Lisa had choices for the reconstruction. She chose an advanced procedure newly offered at Methodist Richardson called DIEP flap.
Working with your body
Lisa’s plastic surgeon, Frederick Duffy Jr., MD, FACS, on the medical staff at Methodist Richardson Medical Center, calls the DIEP flap procedure the “Cadillac of breast surgery operations” because of its 97 percent success rate and positive results for women.
During the procedure, skin and fat are removed from the abdomen and are used to form a new, healthy breast. There are cosmetic benefits as well, like a flatter stomach, as the abdominal portion of the procedure works like a tummy tuck.
What makes the procedure possible is advanced microsurgery technology, which enables surgeons to transfer not only tissue but also the blood vessels that keep it alive.
Many things appealed to Lisa about the DIEP flap. “Implants don’t last forever, and I didn’t like thinking there would be other surgeries down the road to replace them,” she says. “Plus, I felt more comfortable using my own tissue, part of my own body.”
Dr. Duffy says the goal is to “replace whatever part of the body we’re reconstructing with something that is very similar. Abdominal tissue is so similar to breast tissue that many women say they can’t feel a difference.”
Not just any breast surgery
Dr. Hughes says DIEP flap is only possible with a highly specialized team approach. That’s how she came to collaborate with the practices of both Dr. Duffy and Joshua Lemmon, MD, also on the hospital’s medical staff. Between them, the surgeons have performed 1,500 DIEP flap procedures and know the benefits DIEP flap offers women.
Nevertheless, the surgery is not for everyone, Dr. Lemmon says.
“You have to meet the patient and take into consideration her goals, medical history, and lifestyle.”
When it comes to DIEP flap, women who commonly qualify are those who are younger than 65 and who have enough soft tissue in their abdomen. It’s an ideal procedure for patients following radiation therapy or who currently have implants and want to transition to a more permanent breast option.
Cancer is gone, a new breast is here
Lisa has recovered well since her DIEP flap surgery and knows without a doubt that it and Methodist Richardson were the right choices for her.