Question:
Dr. Kline,
I just watched the video on the gap surgery. If a person had this, would the tummy tuck be involved? I know it involves the buttocks, but does it extend to the stomach? I know I have enough tissue on my front, but it appears that the gap surgery is pretty neat. I am still contemplating having the surgery, but it must be when I have time.
You are the doctor who will do my surgery should I decide. Without a doubt, you are a caring and concerned person who treats patients with kindness and empathy.
I’ve missed Charleston. Thank you for all your wonderful work you’re doing.
Answer:
Hi,
Great to hear from you!
We have done about 1700 reconstructions with tummy tissue (DIEP flap), with a flap success rate of 99.01% We have done about 300 reconstructions with buttock tissue (sGAP), with a flap success rate of 95%.
For technical reasons, the GAP surgery is about 5 times harder (for us, not you), and since the success rate is not quite as good, we usually recommend using the stomach if it is adequate. That being said, we are happy to do the sGAP if it looks like that is your best option. The GAP surgery does not extend to the stomach, but fat can be harvested from the stomach at later stages and used as grafts to refine the breasts. This might result in droopy (-ier) tummy skin, and a separate tummy tuck might be an option.
Thank you for your kind words and let me know if you have any other questions I can answer for you.
Take care,
Richard M. Kline Jr., M.D.
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2021-07-09T14:44:42+00:00