“Going flat” is a term that refers to mastectomy patients who decide to have contouring of the mastectomy skin to have the area flat across the chest wall as an alternative to breast reconstruction (implant or tissue). This procedure can be done at the time of the mastectomy (immediate) or following breast reconstruction (implant based often but can be after DIEP flap reconstruction, though less commonly). Women who decide to make this choice may wish not to have a foreign material (silicone implant or shell), may be experiencing pain or other symptoms of treatment/reconstruction, or other personal reasons.
