Dec 20, 2023
I feel twice fortunate to be speaking to my guest on this episode of the DiepCJourney podcast on two topics, her specialty of performing DIEP Flap breast reconstruction and her role as conference scientific chair for the London Breast Meeting. It was a phenomenal experience for me to meet her in person at the London Breast Meeting where I learned a great deal from the game-changers in breast surgery, oncology, and breast reconstruction. This gives me the ability to bring more in-depth information to the listeners and breast cancer community we serve at DiepCFoundation.
I am speaking with Marlene See, a consultant in plastic and reconstructive plastic surgery at Guys and St. Thomas Hospital, part of the NHS Foundation Trust in London. Marlene’s specialists interests are breasts and microsurgical breast reconstruction. She trained in London at East Grinstead before embarking on her plastic surgery training. She completed her training in microsurgery at Guys and St. Thomas Hospital. Marlene is a published author on the topic of breast reconstruction, facial analysis, and lower limb reconstruction.
Marlene shares with us the history of when DIEP flaps were introduced in microsurgery. She outlines the reason it is often called the “gold standard” in breast reconstruction, and what area of the body microsurgeons use to reconstruct the breast for those affected by breast cancer. Who is a candidate for DIEP flap and what concerns do patients have about recovery for this surgery? She shares with us the importance of using ERAS protocol to enhance recovery.
We then switch topics and discuss the origins of the London Breast Meeting. Marlene and I glimpse into the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the conference and what the focus will be. It all began ten years ago with an invitation from colleague and friend Jian Farhadi while she was completing her microsurgical fellowship. Jian wanted to begin a conference on breast cancer treatment, breast surgery, breast reconstruction, and aesthetic breast surgery. It has evolved into one of the premier breast meetings to attend and be part throughout the world.
With that, I invite you to listen to the podcast as Marlene shares the goals and theme of the London Breast Meeting 2024.
You can find Marlene See and her colleague Jian Farhadi on Social Media accounts here:
Marlene See:
Instagram: seemarlene
LinkedIn: Marlene See
Jian Farhadi:
Instagram: plasticsurgeryfroup_by_farhadi
LinkedIn: Jian Farhadi