Mar 2, 2009 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: Buttocks To Breast Reconstruction
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
A revolutionary new option for women with breast cancer. One Chester County doctor is doing a breakthrough kind reconstruction.
"This is now what was this," Martha Ritz explains, gesturing from her buttocks to her breasts.
You heard right, Martha Ritz has some specially reconfigured body parts.
"So this is a little flatter," she explains, pointing out her bottom.
She calls it the butt tuck she never planned for.
"It is fascinating," Ritz said.
After having a mastectomy in January, Martha didn't want an implant and there wasn't enough fat in her belly for traditional reconstruction.
Dr. David Singer with Paoli and Chester County Hospitals had an alternative.
"It's your living breathing tissue from your buttock that's moved up to your chest to rebuild your chest," said Doctor Singer. "The tissue taken from here and moved to the breast here," he continued.
Martha was shocked when she first heard that fat in her rear end could be used to reconstruct her breast, but the idea grew on her fast.
"To have a little bit of a tuck in your butt why not get two for one?" she asked herself.
Doctor Singer says the procedure called an SGAP Flap is a complicated and difficult tissue transplant because tiny blood vessels have to be cut and then reattached. The end result is a breast that is the patient's own tissue.
"It will actually feel better than this and will often look better than an implant," the doctor explained, holding a traditional implant.
"Everything looks great. I'm surprised at how well how natural everything does look," said Martha.
In spite of all the tissue that was removed, the size and shape of Martha's rear end isn't that dramatically changed.
"I'm definitely very happy with the choice I made," said Martha.
She's back to being outside playing with her dogs, ready to celebrate her 50th birthday, cancer free and with a new body.
This procedure is only being done for certain breast cancer patients. It's not available for purely cosmetic reasons.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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