Breast Reconstruction

Need Immediate Care?
For emergency services, call 911.

For non-emergency walk-in care, try an ExpressCARE location.
Need help scheduling or have a question?
Call 888-402-LVHN (5846).

Reconstructive surgeons with Lehigh Valley Institute for Surgical Excellence at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) offer many breast reconstruction options to women who have undergone breast cancer surgery. We help you recapture your sense of self in both looks and self-confidence.

Need Immediate Care?
For emergency services, call 911.

For non-emergency walk-in care, try an ExpressCARE location.
Need help scheduling or have a question?
Call 888-402-LVHN (5846).

Breast reconstruction surgery following mastectomy or lumpectomy to treat breast cancer can restore your breasts to a more natural look. The board-certified reconstructive surgeons at LVHN expertly perform breast implant reconstruction and tissue flap reconstruction. We work with you to select the best option for your body shape and personal preferences.

Types of breast reconstruction surgery

Our goal is to help women achieve a natural, healthy appearance following breast surgery. To do this, we offer:

  • Breast implant reconstruction
  • Tissue (autologous) reconstruction
  • Nipple tattooing

Breast implant reconstruction

Your doctor uses silicone gel-filled implants or saline implants to rebuild your breast shape. Breast implants can be a good choice if you won’t be getting radiation therapy, which can harden implants. Many women choose to explore implant reconstruction after finishing radiation therapy.

Tissue (autologous) reconstruction 

If surgery or radiation has left you without enough chest wall tissue to support a breast implant, you may need a flap reconstruction, or autologous, procedure. We offer:

  • Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap: This reconstructive microsurgery moves fat and skin from your abdomen to the chest to create a breast shape.
  • Transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap: This procedure uses skin and fat tissue from your abdomen to form a new breast. When possible, our surgeons perform muscle-sparing TRAM flaps. This approach uses a smaller portion of your abdominal muscle.

Nipple tattooing 

If you aren’t able to have a nipple-sparing mastectomy, our team uses tattoo ink pigments to create a natural-looking nipple and areola.

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Related Conditions

Breast Cancer