“Dr. Smith wants to make sure you’re pleased with your body’s aesthetic and comfortable in your skin.”

At 30 years old and less than a month before her wedding, Beth received word that her biopsy was positive for breast cancer.

“I made the decision right away that I needed to do a bilateral mastectomy. Because for me personally, I did not want to wait to get breast cancer again.”

Beth’s initial breast surgery took place in 2007, just 3 weeks before she got married. One day after her wedding, she received the call confirming that she had the BRCA1 genetic mutation further complicating her situation.

After her mastectomy, Beth underwent a round of fertility preservation before beginning chemotherapy treatment. Her tissue expanders, which had been placed during the initial surgery, were eventually swapped out for silicone gel textured implants.

Beth always knew her implants would need to be replaced, and her first plastic surgeon had seeded the idea of natural tissue reconstruction after she had children. Her two children were born in 2017 and 2018 to her second husband. Both births required a C-section and took a toll on Beth’s body.

After her children were born, Beth started to think about updating her breast reconstruction with natural tissue to replace her implants.

“I'd always accepted the look of the implants. They don't move. They're not sexy or anything like that.”

Beth revisited her first plastic surgeon, who told her that she might be a candidate for the DIEP flap procedure. She was attracted to the idea of getting natural-looking breasts as well as the “tummy tuck” benefits of the DIEP flap. But with two young children, she needed to work with a surgeon who was closer to home. That’s how she was referred to Dr. Smith.

“Never have I ever had a doctor's office say to me, ‘You can contact us at any time of the day and we will get back to you. No matter what question ... just reach out.’"

After doing her own research, Beth went into consultation with Dr. Smith with a strong preference for the DIEP flap procedure. She knew it would be a good fit based on her body type and what was important to her.

She and Dr. Smith decided to add a small implant to the DIEP flap procedure for projection to provide the best cosmetic result. Beth also had some fat grafting done as well as a secondary procedure for nipple reconstruction.

“Dr. Smith wants to make sure you’re pleased with your body’s aesthetic and comfortable in your skin.”

“Part of the recovery is learning to feel good about yourself and having a good body image after breast cancer.”

Compared to her original mastectomy recovery, Beth found recovery from the DIEP flap to be fairly straightforward. She also realized that the breathing problems and chest heaviness she had previously dealt with were gone. She speculates that they were related to her older, larger implants.

What is Beth’s advice for other women facing a breast cancer diagnosis and evaluating breast reconstruction?

“Do your research and try to be your own best advocate because you know what your body is capable of handling. And don't listen to everybody else in the room. Try to figure out what's going to make you happy.”