A woman in the UK has become the first person to receive a breast transplant, after being treated for breast cancer.
Nicola Purdie, 38, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. During that year, she underwent five months of chemotherapy, had both breasts removed and reconstructed using the DIEP flap technique, using skin and fat tissue from her lower abdomen.
This is a method to help shape the breasts with a natural structure, without the need for artificial breast implants. Breasts after surgery can also change in size according to body weight.
In 2024, while five months pregnant with her second child, Purdie discovered that cancer had returned to her right breast. Despite limited screening, she was able to have surgery to remove a tumor.
Nicola Purdie discovered she had breast cancer again while pregnant with her second child (Photo: NYP).
After giving birth, the young mother continued to undergo tests and received results showing multiple malignant tumors in the skin and lymph nodes in her chest. Purdie continued to have chemotherapy for a second time while still caring for her newborn.
The doctor then suggested a total mastectomy and reconstruction using a latissimus dorsi muscle (LD flap). This involves pulling a portion of the latissimus dorsi muscle to replace the removed breast tissue. However, the woman disagreed with the suggestion. The reason given by the woman was that her aunt had undergone an LD flap and had a difficult recovery.
In addition, this method can affect her future mobility. In case there is not enough skin to place a breast implant after radiation therapy, she will only have one breast permanently.
So Purdie came up with a bold idea: "Why not take the left breast tissue itself - which had been shaped from abdominal tissue - and graft it to the right?"
When she presented the case, Dr Reza Arya, a breast cancer surgeon at NHS Wales, admitted that he had never read a report or heard of a similar operation. To him, the idea was new to the medical profession and needed further consideration.
The expert spoke with many doctors for evaluation but no one was sure whether this method was feasible.
Experts cannot confirm whether the blood vessels in the old regenerated tissue will still function. In the case of separating the breast tissue and then re-grafting it, the blood vessels are not sure if they can withstand a second microsurgery.
After carefully weighing the benefits and risks, the team and Purdie agreed to proceed with the surgery. In a seven-hour operation, doctors removed the left breast tissue (which had been reconstructed from abdominal tissue) and grafted it to the right.
Post-operative cytology results showed no cancer. In addition, the skin on the new breast was eligible for further radiation therapy and then implant placement to create symmetry on both sides.
Dr Arya calls it “ the world's first breast transplant” and will publish it in medical journals.
As for Purdie, she said she feels happy to have the opportunity to continue being a complete woman thanks to this method.
"If I didn't have surgery, I would only have one breast left, because radiation would destroy the tissue and I wouldn't be able to get implants. Thanks to this surgery, I can keep both of my breasts," the woman said.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/ca-phau-thuat-dac-biet-dau-tien-tren-the-gioi-cho-nguoi-benh-ung-thu-20250611103021088.htm
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