What is the LAP flap?
Lumbar Artery Peforator (LAP) flap reconstruction uses excess skin and fatty tissue from the lower back to reconstruct the breast. More specifically, the donor area of fat comes from the flanks, more commonly known as the “love handles.” The tissue is nourished by a specific blood vessel called the “lumbar artery perforator.”
LAP flap reconstruction is indicated for women who are not candidates for deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap breast reconstruction. This includes women who lack sufficient fat at the lower abdomen or thigh region. Alternatively, the LAP flap is considered in women who have had previous abdominal surgery, whereby DIEP flap reconstruction is not possible (i.e. previous tummy tuck or major abdominal surgery whereby vessels supplying the DIEP flap have been transected).
