Surgeons Successfully Treat Using World-Renown Procedure for Twin-to-Twin Breast Reconstruction  

Mount Pleasant, SC – During a seven-hour operation at East Cooper Regional Medical Center on Tuesday, October 17, a surgical team performed breast reconstruction on a Pennsylvania woman using tissue donated by her identical twin. The surgery involving identical twins is believed to be the first bilateral breast reconstruction and the third of its kind ever performed in the world. The first two surgeries were performed in 2000 and in 2001 at East Cooper Regional Medical Center’s sister hospital at the time, Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans.  

Robert J. Allen, M.D., a reconstructive microsurgeon at East Cooper Regional Medical Center (ECRMC), led the surgical team which included James E. Craigie, an East Cooper reconstructive microsurgeon. They performed the deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction on the patient who had a double mastectomy for breast cancer in December 2005 and June 2006.  The two surgeons worked simultaneously in reconstructing both the left and right breast. Prior to the surgery, extensive genetic testing confirmed that the sisters are monozygotic twins to ensure that the donated tissue would not be rejected by the other twin.  

The DIEP flap procedure was developed in the early 1990s by Dr. Allen. The DIEP flap relies on advanced microsurgical techniques. The surgeon dissects and connects tiny blood vessels under the operating microscope. Skin and fat from the lower abdomen are used to reconstruct the breast.  

In this case, the recipient twin had a previous “tummy tuck” (abdominoplasty) and could not use tissue from her own abdomen to make breasts. The surgical team dissected blood vessels away from the abdominal muscle and harvested the flaps of skin and fat from the donor twin. The DIEP flap procedure does not sacrifice muscle. The surgeons remove an artery and vein from beneath the muscle and use it to reconnect the blood flow in the newly constructed breast to other vessels in the breast area.  

Removal of excess skin and fat from the lower abdomen resulted in a tummy tuck for the donor twin. The donor tissue was used to reconstruct the other twin’s breast mounds and nipples.  

 “The first kidney transplant was between identical twins in 1954,” says Dr. Allen. “Also, scalp reconstruction with microsurgical transfer between identical twins was done in the early 1980s. This is the third transplant in the world for breast reconstruction involving identical twins.”  

ABOUT EAST COOPER REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER  

East Cooper Regional Medical Center, part of Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s (NYSE:THC) operations in South Carolina is a 100-bed acute care hospital located at 1200 Johnnie Dodds Boulevard in Mt. Pleasant.  The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of the greater Mt. Pleasant community since 1986.  East Cooper strives to be the primary health care facility in its community, providing services, such as women’s care, spine and general surgery and neurosurgery.  In 2005 East Cooper was the first hospital in South Carolina to be recognized for service excellence under the J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program. This recognition was awarded again in October 2006.  East Cooper Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.  To learn more about East Cooper Regional Medical Center, visit www.eastcoopermedctr.com.