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17 T M C P U L S E | F E B R U A R Y 2 02 0 Aldona Spiegel, M.D., a plastic surgeon at Houston Methodist Hospital, used her skill as a seamstress to develop an innovative dermal brassiere to offer post-mastectomy patients more natural-looking breasts, reduced pain and faster recovery. The dermal brassiere, which is commercially manufactured by MTF Biologics under the name FlexHD Pliable PRE, also allows the implant itself to assume a dynamic shape. "When a patient is lying flat, it looks very spherical—just like a normal breast," Spiegel explained. "As a patient sits up, that implant takes more of a teardrop shape because that dermal brassiere is giving it room to have what we call a dynamic shape change. It allows a natural transi- tion between the breast shape, very similar to the natural breast shape that women have." Nipple-sparing mastectomy Preventive mastectomies allow women to take charge of their health and keep their femininity and confidence, Spiegel said. To quite literally cut out the risk of developing breast cancer, Eleanor Hoppe underwent a nipple- sparing double mastectomy on April 2, 2018. Houston Methodist surgical oncologist Sherry J. Lim, M.D., performed the surgery and Spiegel implanted the dermal brassiere. "When we do breast reconstruction, we have evolved to doing what we call a nipple-sparing mastectomy quite frequently now," Spiegel said. "What that allows us to do is hide the mastectomy scar in the crease of the breast, so in the visual part of the breast, there isn't really a scar. It makes the breast look very natural and unoperated." Without the fear of cancer looming, Hoppe said she's thankful for Spiegel and the dermal brassiere. "We're in a day and age when … these new technologies and advancements are out there, but you still need somebody who knows what they're doing," Hoppe said. "Don't be afraid of taking control of your health. You have the choice and I chose to hopefully keep myself healthy in the future."