The breast can also be reconstructed by using a woman's own tissue, taken from another part of the body. This is called a flap. The flap consists of skin, fat, and muscle that is either left attached to its original site and tunneled beneath the skin to the chest, or disconnected from its blood supply and reconnected at the breast site. This second technique requires a plastic surgeon who is experienced in microvascular surgery. This type of breast reconstruction is more complex than using tissue expanders and implants, takes longer to perform, and will leave scars at the donor site as well as on the breast.
Recovery is also longer than with an implant.
However, the breast that is reconstructed using your own tissue is generally more natural appearing and softer. Also, there are no concerns about silicone implants and the possible need to redo or replace the implants later. The buttocks flap, thigh flap, and hip flap are sometimes possible. This flap can be either tunneled up to the chest under the abdominal skin, or completely divided from its blood supply in the abdomen and reconnected to blood vessels under the arm or in the chest. The second technique is longer and somewhat more complicated, but has the advantage of leaving more functional abdominal muscles behind.