Latest news with #NicolaPurdie
New York Post
a day ago
- Health
- New York Post
Mother, 38, has ‘breast transplant' after cancer diagnosis: ‘I had never seen or heard of such a procedure'
A British breast cancer survivor has undergone what may be a first of its kind surgery: a breast transplant, using her own healthy breast tissue. And it was all her idea. Nicola Purdie, 38, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020, after which she had five months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. When her cancer returned a couple of year later — in only one breast — her treatment plan looked quite a bit different. 'This is not run of the mill mastectomy we're talking about,' her breast surgeon, Dr. Reza Arya, told the BBC. 4 Nicola Purdie, 38, has undergone what may be a first of its kind surgery: a breast transplant, using her own healthy breast tissue. NHS Wales Purdie's first bout of cancer was also only in her right breast, but due to family history, she decided to err on the safe side with a double mastectomy. Her reconstructive surgery involved a DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforator) flap, in which skin and tissue are taken from the stomach. The upside of that procedure is the breasts are still 'natural' — no implants that need to be changed, and they grown and shrink with weight loss. In 2024, she was healthy and five months pregnant with her second child when she discovered a lump in her right breast — the cancer was back. Testing was limited due to her pregnancy, though she did have a lumpectomy to remove what they knew for sure was cancer. After she delivered her son early, further tests confirmed that she actually had several cancerous tumors, both in the skin and in a lymph node. 'The skin was the only bit of the breast tissue left after my previous reconstruction,' she told the Swansea Bay University Health Board. 4 Purdie was pregnant with her second child when she realized her breast cancer had returned. Nic Purdie / Facebook Purdie underwent chemotherapy again, all while caring for her newborn. 'I finished that in February this year, and then I had what we call the 'crazy idea,'' she said. For the next step in her treatment plan, doctors suggested removal of the entire breast that was infected with cancer, as well as LD flap reconstruction. The latissimus dorsi — a flat muscle that spans across part of the back and over to the side — would be swung around to replace the removed breast tissue. But Purdie didn't love that approach. For one, her aunt had had the procedure and the recovery was rough. It could also limit her future movement. 'All these matters are now clear to us, but at the time the idea was so out of the box that I needed to gather my thoughts.' Dr. Reza Arya For another, it would leave her flat-chested on one side, because there would not be enough skin to accommodate an implant. Purdie wanted symmetry, so that would mean removing her left breast as well. So she asked her doctor: What if they did another DIEP flap like she had done before, but this time used tissue from her healthy left breast to reconstruct the right? 4 Purdie came up with the idea to use healthy breast tissue from one breast to reconstruct the other. Nic Purdie / Facebook 'I remember [Dr. Reza Arya] sitting back in his chair,' Purdie said. 'I could see the cogs whirring.' That's because the idea was new to Arya — and the medical field in general. 'All these matters are now clear to us, but at the time the idea was so out of the box that I needed to gather my thoughts,' he said. 'I was analyzing what the benefits and disadvantages could be before even thinking if it would be technically feasible.' 'I had never seen or heard of such a procedure being talked about or published.' He had conversations with other doctors, but no one was quite sure if it would work. 'We didn't know if the vessels were still running, whether the flap needed to be detached to be transferred and, if so, whether the vessels could withstand the microsurgery again,' Arya said. 4 The surgery has allowed for her to get an implant to have symmetrical breasts, which would not have been otherwise possible for her. Gorodenkoff – 'We went through the pros and cons of all the different options,' Purdie added, 'but something was telling me that because I'd had this idea, there was a reason why I'd had it. I needed to plough on and just trust the process.' She decided to move forward with the seven-hour surgery, and tests conducted afterward showed no signs of cancer. After radiation, she will get an implant on that side — and because of the procedure, there is enough skin for it. Arya calls the surgery a 'world first' and says he will soon publish about it. 'I think that would help others with that very rare question — is an entire breast DIEP flap reusable? Can you freely move it again? Now I can say, absolutely yes. We have successfully recycled a reconstructed breast,' he said. Meanwhile, Purdie is thrilled that they found a solution that 'has allowed me to maintain being a woman' 'I would have been left with only one breast permanently. Radiotherapy would damage the skin and tissues too much to allow for an implant, so this surgery gives me the possibility of having two breasts,' she said. 'I've been so lucky.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
'My left breast was moved to my right after cancer recurred'
Five months into a pregnancy for a much wanted second child in 2024, Nicola Purdie found a lump in her right breast. It is a nightmare scenario for anyone. But for Nicola this was not a new experience. She had already had a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and breast reconstruction after being diagnosed with cancer in 2020. But a radical idea which she suggested to her surgeon has led to what is believed to be a pioneering world first procedure - transplanting a healthy reconstructed breast to replace a cancerous one. In September 2020, Nicola had just finished with breastfeeding her first child and was returning to work as a geography teacher in her home town of Swansea when she found a lump. By October it was diagnosed as cancer and she started five months of chemotherapy at Singleton Hospital, followed by the double mastectomy. Nicola, now 38, said: "Even though I only had cancer in the one breast, my maternal aunty and maternal grandmother also had had breast cancer previously. I thought 'I'm young, let's just get rid of everything and do as much as we can'." She had reconstructive surgery using skin and tissue from her abdomen in a procedure known as a DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforator) flap. "It meant I had natural breasts which would grow and shrink with my bodyweight over time and I wouldn't need implants that would need changing in 10 or 15 years," she said. Because the cancer was oestrogen-fuelled, she was placed on hormone suppression therapy for at least two years. "We knew at the time I was diagnosed that we wanted to have another baby eventually, so we waited for two-and-a-half years actually. "All the oncologists we saw were of the same opinion that I was at no increased risk, because I'd had a complete pathological response [no sign of cancer post-treatment]." Then lump number two appeared. Nicola explained: "This time it was in the skin of the breast because that was the only tissue that was remaining really from the first surgery. There must have been some cancer cells there. "I knew straight away as soon as I found the lump, this is not a coincidence. This is cancer again." Apart from family and a close friend, Nicola did not tell anyone about the cancer this time. Partly it was to shield her daughter from knowing but she had another reason. "I wanted to protect the baby. I wanted him to come into the world and it to be all about him. I didn't want it to be focusing on 'oh gosh Nicky, you OK?'." She attributes this mindset to helping her "shut the door" on thinking about it until her son was born. Because of pregnancy, she could not begin chemotherapy, or have the usual scans to establish if the cancer had spread. She had some chest X-rays and an ultrasound of her stomach and liver, which gave a degree of certainty, although not "100%", that it remained contained in the breast. She also had a lumpectomy to remove the lump from the breast skin. The plan was to deliver the baby at 32 weeks, at the end of August, but even in the midst of the urgency for treatment, she had an eye to her son's future. "I think it was 26 August and I said 'can I put my teacher's hat on now and push it to the week after'. "My husband was like 'what?' But I said 'I've got to give him the best chance'. "So we waited until the first Monday in September and he was born at 32 weeks and six days." Fraser was in the neonatal unit for three weeks. "He went from strength to strength and that made things easier as well because of what I was dealing with. "I don't know how I would have been if he was poorly as well." Nicola started chemotherapy two weeks after giving birth and would go from the baby unit upstairs to have her treatment and then straight back down to her son. She had 16 rounds of chemo which took her all the way through to the beginning of February. Woman has pioneering breast reconstruction surgery 'Reconstructive breast surgery wait just adds to the ordeal' The cancer survivors waiting years for breast reconstruction Initially the oncology team had not been sure what operation to suggest as Nicola had multiple cancer sites in the right breast area and a tumour in one lymph node. The most likely option was removal and an LD (latissimus dorsi) flap, which involves swinging a muscle and skin from the back to cover the area left behind by the removed breast, but leaving the area flat in her case. Reconstruction using an implant on the right side instead would not have been possible as so much skin had to be removed, there would not be enough to cover it, or to withstand damage from subsequent radiation treatment. However, Nicola's aunt had had the LD flap operation and she knew it came with an arduous recovery process and possibly reduced range of movement - not an option for her as the mother of two small children. She also knew she wanted "symmetry" - either two breasts or none. It was while talking to her sisters she initially had the idea that, if she did end up having both breasts removed, why not use the skin from the healthy left breast to cover the larger affected area on the right. But it was only once she was in the consulting room with consultant plastic, reconstructive and breast surgeon Reza Arya, that the idea of moving the whole breast intact dawned. She realised it would allow her to create a right breast and have reconstructive surgery on the left side using an implant because there was enough skin left in situ from the first operation in 2020. When she put this to Reza - "could we rob Peter to pay Paul?" - she "could literally see the cogs whirring" in his head. He recalled being speechless at the idea. "I had never seen or heard of such a procedure being talked about or published. "I wasn't even sure at that stage whether I would be adding to Nicola's care or taking away from it." Reza said it was very unusual to have a patient come up with such a radical idea. "Kudos to Nicola because she's amazing. "I had extensive discussions with colleagues all over the UK who are all experts in flap reconstruction from the abdomen. The conclusion was maybe it is possible and just go ahead with it. "This is not run of the mill mastectomy we're talking about," he said. "We're removing the whole of the footprint of the breast [on the right]. It is a very, very large area of skin and to be able to close it you have to borrow from somewhere, some skin and tissue, that can withstand future radiotherapy. "Left is a side that's easy to reconstruct in future, because it's not subject to radiotherapy and all other treatments, and the cancer itself." When Nicola went into the surgery, she knew she could wake up to very different outcomes - a successful left to right transplant, or an LD flap reconstruction on her right side after all if he decided the transfer would not work, with the left breast removed anyway at her request. She gave Reza her blessing for any outcome. And her outrageous gamble paid off. "What makes it a world first is that the tissue has been ported to two different sites," she said. "We didn't know if that would be possible or probable, the microsurgery of actually sewing the vessels together - if it would work or if it would be so scarred that it would be completely impossible." She is starting a few weeks of radiotherapy, and around Christmas time will have reconstructive surgery on the left side using a saline implant. She will be on hormone therapy for the next 10 years to manage the risks of recurrence but has been given the all-clear in terms of this treatment cycle. For someone who has been through such gruelling experiences, she is remarkably upbeat. How does she stay positive? "If I am having those moments when I feel 'oh my god this is awful, why has this happened to us?' "I let myself think about it for a minute and then move on to the next thing. If you don't allow yourself to think about it, it won't get you down. "I have to sit back and think 'this is life. Worse things can happen'. I'm lucky that I've had incredible treatment from the word go, and an amazing team who I trust." She added: "Both the kids were just the best distraction ever. It's hope isn't it? When you see little children. You think there's hope for the future." Amy Dowden reflects on life after cancer treatment 'Breast cancer is more than surgery and chemo' Woman's breast reconstruction delayed three times
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Breast transplanted to replace cancerous one in 'world first' operation
Five months into a pregnancy for a much wanted second child in 2024, Nicola Purdie found a lump in her right is a nightmare scenario for anyone. But for Nicola this was not a new had already had a double mastectomy, chemotherapy and breast reconstruction after being diagnosed with cancer in a radical idea which she suggested to her surgeon has led to what is believed to be a pioneering world first procedure - transplanting a healthy reconstructed breast to replace a cancerous one. In September 2020, Nicola had just finished with breastfeeding her first child and was returning to work as a geography teacher in her home town of Swansea when she found a October it was diagnosed as cancer and she started five months of chemotherapy at Singleton Hospital, followed by the double now 38, said: "Even though I only had cancer in the one breast, my maternal aunty and maternal grandmother also had had breast cancer previously. I thought 'I'm young, let's just get rid of everything and do as much as we can'."She had reconstructive surgery using skin and tissue from her abdomen in a procedure known as a DIEP (deep inferior epigastric perforator) flap. "It meant I had natural breasts which would grow and shrink with my bodyweight over time and I wouldn't need implants that would need changing in 10 or 15 years," she the cancer was oestrogen-fuelled, she was placed on hormone suppression therapy for at least two years. 'This is not a coincidence. This is cancer' "We knew at the time I was diagnosed that we wanted to have another baby eventually, so we waited for two-and-a-half years actually."All the oncologists we saw were of the same opinion that I was at no increased risk, because I'd had a complete pathological response [no sign of cancer post-treatment]."Then lump number two appeared. Nicola explained: "This time it was in the skin of the breast because that was the only tissue that was remaining really from the first surgery. There must have been some cancer cells there."I knew straight away as soon as I found the lump, this is not a coincidence. This is cancer again." Apart from family and a close friend, Nicola did not tell anyone about the cancer this time. Partly it was to shield her daughter from knowing but she had another reason."I wanted to protect the baby. I wanted him to come into the world and it to be all about him. I didn't want it to be focusing on 'oh gosh Nicky, you OK?'."She attributes this mindset to helping her "shut the door" on thinking about it until her son was of pregnancy, she could not begin chemotherapy, or have the usual scans to establish if the cancer had had some chest X-rays and an ultrasound of her stomach and liver, which gave a degree of certainty, although not "100%", that it remained contained in the breast. She also had a lumpectomy to remove the lump from the breast skin. The plan was to deliver the baby at 32 weeks, at the end of August, but even in the midst of the urgency for treatment, she had an eye to her son's future."I think it was 26 August and I said 'can I put my teacher's hat on now and push it to the week after'. "My husband was like 'what?' But I said 'I've got to give him the best chance'. "So we waited until the first Monday in September and he was born at 32 weeks and six days."Fraser was in the neonatal unit for three weeks. "He went from strength to strength and that made things easier as well because of what I was dealing with. "I don't know how I would have been if he was poorly as well."Nicola started chemotherapy two weeks after giving birth and would go from the baby unit upstairs to have her treatment and then straight back down to her had 16 rounds of chemo which took her all the way through to the beginning of February. Initially the oncology team had not been sure what operation to suggest as Nicola had multiple cancer sites in the right breast area and a tumour in one lymph node. The most likely option was removal and an LD (latissimus dorsi) flap, which involves swinging a muscle and skin from the back to cover the area left behind by the removed breast, but leaving the area flat in her using an implant on the right side instead would not have been possible as so much skin had to be removed, there would not be enough to cover it, or to withstand damage from subsequent radiation Nicola's aunt had had the LD flap operation and she knew it came with an arduous recovery process and possibly reduced range of movement - not an option for her as the mother of two small also knew she wanted "symmetry" - either two breasts or was while talking to her sisters she initially had the idea that, if she did end up having both breasts removed, why not use the skin from the healthy left breast to cover the larger affected area on the it was only once she was in the consulting room with consultant plastic, reconstructive and breast surgeon Reza Arya, that the idea of moving the whole breast intact dawned. She realised it would allow her to create a right breast and have reconstructive surgery on the left side using an implant because there was enough skin left in situ from the first operation in she put this to Reza - "could we rob Peter to pay Paul?" - she "could literally see the cogs whirring" in his recalled being speechless at the idea. "I had never seen or heard of such a procedure being talked about or published. "I wasn't even sure at that stage whether I would be adding to Nicola's care or taking away from it."Reza said it was very unusual to have a patient come up with such a radical idea."Kudos to Nicola because she's amazing. "I had extensive discussions with colleagues all over the UK who are all experts in flap reconstruction from the abdomen. The conclusion was maybe it is possible and just go ahead with it."This is not run of the mill mastectomy we're talking about," he said. "We're removing the whole of the footprint of the breast [on the right]. It is a very, very large area of skin and to be able to close it you have to borrow from somewhere, some skin and tissue, that can withstand future radiotherapy."Left is a side that's easy to reconstruct in future, because it's not subject to radiotherapy and all other treatments, and the cancer itself." When Nicola went into the surgery, she knew she could wake up to very different outcomes - a successful left to right transplant, or an LD flap reconstruction on her right side after all if he decided the transfer would not work, with the left breast removed anyway at her gave Reza her blessing for any outcome. And her outrageous gamble paid off."What makes it a world first is that the tissue has been ported to two different sites," she said. "We didn't know if that would be possible or probable, the microsurgery of actually sewing the vessels together - if it would work or if it would be so scarred that it would be completely impossible."She is starting a few weeks of radiotherapy, and around Christmas time will have reconstructive surgery on the left side using a saline implant. She will be on hormone therapy for the next 10 years to manage the risks of recurrence but has been given the all-clear in terms of this treatment someone who has been through such gruelling experiences, she is remarkably upbeat. How does she stay positive?"If I am having those moments when I feel 'oh my god this is awful, why has this happened to us?' "I let myself think about it for a minute and then move on to the next thing. If you don't allow yourself to think about it, it won't get you down."I have to sit back and think 'this is life. Worse things can happen'. I'm lucky that I've had incredible treatment from the word go, and an amazing team who I trust."She added: "Both the kids were just the best distraction ever. It's hope isn't it? When you see little children. You think there's hope for the future."
