Orlando Health Plastic Surgeons Complete Experimental Reconstructive Procedure for Breast Cancer Mastectomy Patient

The First Surgeons in Central Florida to Perform Procedure

Orlando, FL (September 11, 2023) – Surgeons with the Orlando Health Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery Institute (ARSI) are the first in Central Florida to complete an experimental procedure to help breast cancer patients who undergo reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy.

This novel procedure, called neurotized DIEP (Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator) flap, reconstructs the breast using tissue typically harvested from the lower abdomen while also transplanting nerves that allow the patient to recover a degree of sensation in the reconstructed breast. 

“Most breast cancer patients who opt for reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy will have to grapple with the loss of sensation in the breast following the procedure,” says Kenneth Lee, MD, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Orlando Health. “Our team takes pride in providing this innovative surgical technique to mitigate this outcome and enhance the post-mastectomy quality of life for our patients."

The Orlando Health ARSI team performed its first neurotized DIEP flap procedure in August 2023 and will follow the patient’s progress for the next several months. 

Says Dr. Lee, “this procedure is important for its potential to restore not just physical sensation but also a sense of wholeness and confidence for our patients. It represents the innovative approach our practice takes to continue to push for breakthroughs in medicine that allow us to rebuild the body and lives.” 

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a not-for-profit healthcare organization with $9.2 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico. 

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for Central Florida’s only pediatric and adult Level I Trauma program as well as the only state-accredited Level II Adult Trauma Center in Pinellas County. It is the home of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health has pioneered life-changing medical research and its Graduate Medical Education program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows.  

The 3,888-bed system includes 29 hospitals and emergency departments – 24 of which are currently operational with five coming soon. The system also includes nine specialty institutes, more than 100 adult and pediatric primary care practices, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility under the management of Acadia Healthcare, and more than 60 outpatient facilities that include imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with FastMed Urgent Care. More than 4,750 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 27,000 team members and more than 1,200 physicians.  

In FY22, Orlando Health served nearly 142,000 inpatients and 3.9 million outpatients. The healthcare system provided more than $782 million in total value to the communities it serves in the form of charity care, community benefit programs and services, community building activities and more in FY 21, the most recent period for which this information is available. Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.