The Breast Restoration Program at the University Health Network (UHN) is now one of the leading programs in Canada.
The program provides comprehensive treatment to post mastectomy patients looking for timely reconstructive surgery.
“We will see patients at various stages,” said Dr. Toni Zhong, plastic and reconstructive surgeon with the UHN.
“We get patients that have already completed their cancer treatment or we’ll see them as soon as they have been diagnosed. We then plan with the general surgeon to go in at the same time to do the mastectomy and provide breast reconstruction.”
More than 200 breast reconstruction surgeries are completed each year using implants and the patient’s own tissue.
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Using state of the art techniques in microsurgery, more than 150 of breast reconstructions are performed using perforator flaps (patient’s own tissue.)
“The most common place we take the tissue from is the patient’s tummy skin and fat and we hook up an artery and a vein so that the blood can go into the tissue so it becomes incorporated and becomes into your own tissue,” said Dr.Zhong.
The program involves three core hospitals, Mount Sinai, Princess Margaret and Toronto General, and employs a full time breast reconstruction nurse.
Sarah Zitsow, a former patient of the program said the nurse was an invaluable player throughout her journey.
“She answered all of my questions and really helped me in terms of support knowing that everything was going to be okay and that it would get better,” Zitsow said.
One of the main initiatives of the Breast Reconstruction Program is to inform mastectomy patients that they have many options available to them.
“We want to dispel the myth that’s out there that most patients are not candidates for breast reconstruction when this is not true,” said Dr.Zhong. “In fact most patients are candidates and they can benefit from one reconstruction or another.”
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