Contralateral internal mammary vessels – a rescue recipient vessels option in breast reconstruction

Abstract

The most used vessels for free flap breast reconstruction are the internal mammary, the thoracodorsal and the circumflex scapular. We present a case where those were inadequate. DIEP vessels were passed through a created sternal groove and anastomosed to the contralateral IM vessels, accessed by the breast symmetrisation incisions.

Keywords:

• Breast reconstruction
• DIEP
• anastomosis
• anastomosis conversion
• free flap
• case report

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).