A popular type of breast reconstruction surgery might soon be hard for cancer patients to access. The procedure, called DIEP flap, involves harvesting fat from a patient's abdomen to make a breast.

The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator or DIEP flap is a microsurgical technique in which blood vessels, skin and fat are taken from the lower abdomen and used to reconstruct the breast(s).

Patients who choose breast reconstruction after a mastectomy face several important decisions. Patients can choose breast implant surgery or autologous flap reconstruction—also known as tissue-based ...