Bilateral DIEP flap breast reconstruction with simultaneous unilateral nipple-sparing mastectomy - case report

With the steady increase in the incidence of breast cancer in women, treatment that includes not only tumor removal but also breast reconstruction is becoming a more relevant issue for oncologic and plastic surgeons. Mastectomy recently evolved as a form of primary prevention of hereditary breast cancer, commonly performed in combination with simultaneous reconstruction. A case of 44-year-old woman who underwent right mastectomy with adjuvant radiotherapy is presented. Due to the patient's positivity for BRCA1 mutation and her wishes, a risk-reducing mastectomy with nipple-areola complex preservation and bilateral deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap reconstruction were performed in one-stage. In selected cases this method appears to be the best possible procedure for simultaneous preventative and reconstructive management in patients with genetically determined breast cancer who have undergone mastectomy with radiotherapy.