Your Surgery Begins
The Operating Room
Once inside the operating room, you will meet the anesthetist who put you to sleep for your surgery. You will be connected to numerous machines like heart and blood pressure monitors that will ensure your vital signs remain normal. Once connected, you will be put to sleep, connected to a ventilator system and fitted with a catheter.
During Surgery
A medical team of eight or more specialists is present during your surgery. The team includes the surgical oncologist who performs the mastectomy, your plastic surgeon, a resident, a physician’s assistant, the anesthetist and three nurses.
The length of your surgery depends on the type of procedure and whether one or two breasts require surgery. Most DIEP and SIEA procedures are completed in two to four hours when one breast is being reconstructed or approximately six to eight hours for both. TUG, SGAP and IGAP surgical procedures typically take approximately eight hours.