Join Plastic Surgery Practice Co-Chief Editors Alison Werner and Keri Stephens as they talk to Camelia Lawrence, MD, FACS, the director of breast surgery at the Hospital of Central Connecticut and MidState Medical Center, Hartford Healthcare; and Katrin van Dam, a breast cancer survivor, and the author of Flat and Happy: Mastectomy and Flat Closure—A Personal, Practical Guide, which she wrote alongside of Lawrence.

This podcast delves into the reasons van Dam decided to stay flat after her mastectomy—and why she documented her experience in the book—and what she wants to tell other mastectomy patients about her choice. Van Dam also addresses how comparing mastectomies to gender-affirming top surgeries “denies the grief of one [procedure] and the relief of the other.”

Finally, Lawrence shares why she believes most women who choose implant-based reconstruction go into their first appointment with their plastic surgeon blindly and how breast surgeons and plastic surgeons can work together better to improve outcomes among mastectomy patients.