With their complicated surgeries behind them, Patangi Amin and Ana Costa reflect on their experiences, sharing what has made them stronger.
Patangi Amin and Ana Costa, two New Jersey women who were diagnosed with breast cancer, made the difficult decision to have mastectomies. After consulting with surgeons at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) New Brunswick, they both chose to have reconstruction surgery using their own tissue to rebuild their breasts.
This complicated surgery, called tissue flap reconstruction, takes skin, fat, and blood vessels from a patient’s abdomen, thighs, or buttocks, and can be done on the same day as the mastectomies. Though commonly performed in larger academic institutions, this surgery has not been as accessible in New Jersey until recently.
An article on Rutgers Health’s website highlights how Richard Agag, MD, RWJUH chief of the division of plastic and reconstructive surgery, and Jeremy Sinkin, MD — both experts in microsurgery who practice at RWJUH and teach at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (RWJMS) — and a comprehensive interdisciplinary team at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) gave Amin and Costa a chance to feel complete again.
With their complicated surgeries behind them, both women reflect on their experiences, sharing lessons they learned along the way that have made them stronger.
Read the full article here: Helping Women Look and Feel Complete Again After Breast Cancer