About The Breast Group
Our beginning
The Breast Group is formed of a group of consultant plastic surgeons with a specialist interest in breast reconstruction, who found themselves sharing similar approaches and standards while working within the NHS.
Our NHS work at Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead and other regional centres laid the groundwork for what has become a distinctive collaboration in private practice across London & South East England.
Our experience
Our consultants have decades of combined expertise in breast reconstruction. Together, we have performed over 3,500 successful free flap procedures, maintaining flap loss rates three times lower than the national average in the NHS. Our commitment to surgical excellence has allowed us to pioneer enhanced recovery protocols that enable most patients to return home within just two days—among the shortest hospital stays reported globally for these complex procedures.
Each consultant maintains a high-volume practice, ensuring our technical skills remain sharp and our outcomes consistently excellent. This means you receive care from surgeons who are not only highly experienced but who continually refine their techniques based on proven results.
How we work
What sets us apart is our paired approach. Each procedure involves two consultant plastic surgeons working together—a method that has proven remarkably effective.
This isn’t simply about having more hands at the operating table. Working as a team means reduced operating times, more efficient decision-making, and the combined experience of two specialists focused on a single outcome: your successful reconstruction.
Our results
The figures speak for themselves:
- No flap losses in 225 consecutive private reconstructions with 2 consultants working collaboratively between 2020 and 2024
- Most patients return home within just two days
- An emergency reoperation rate of only 1.5%
- Consistently shorter hospital stays than the national average
Our approach to reconstruction
We specialise in free-flap breast reconstruction—a technique that uses your body’s own tissue to create a new breast. Unlike implant-based methods, this approach offers a more natural look and feel, moves with your body, and doesn’t require replacement over time.
Whether using a DIEP flap (abdominal tissue) or TUG/LUG flap (thigh tissue), we aim for results that feel as natural as possible and maintain their quality for years to come.
Patient care
We understand that breast reconstruction is often part of a challenging journey. Our aim is to make this aspect as straightforward as possible, with clear information, realistic expectations, and consistent support.
Our approach includes:
- Close collaboration with your other care providers
- Thorough consultations to understand your priorities
- Clear explanations of options and outcomes
- Carefully managed recovery processes
- Long-term follow-up care
Additional procedures
For many patients, the initial reconstruction is just the first step. Approximately 60% benefit from subsequent procedures such as symmetrisation (adjusting the other breast) or lipomodelling (refining the reconstruction’s shape).
We also offer nipple reconstruction and tattooing to complete the process. Our goal is to achieve a balanced, natural appearance that gives you confidence in and out of clothing.
Private care options
We welcome both self-pay patients and those with private medical insurance. We work with most major insurers, though coverage details vary by policy. Our team can help you navigate these considerations to find a suitable approach.
Beyond surgery
While our primary focus is delivering excellent surgical outcomes, we’re also committed to advancing breast reconstruction techniques through research and innovation. Many of us have published work on enhanced recovery protocols, novel flap techniques, and methods to improve patient experience.
By combining our clinical practice with ongoing research, we aim to continue refining and improving reconstructive options for all patients.
The Breast Group London represents a straightforward approach to complex surgery: experienced consultants working together to achieve reliable, high-quality outcomes for breast reconstruction.
Our Principles
Paired expertise
We operate as pairs of consultant surgeons not because it’s easier, but because it produces measurably better results. This isn’t about having a safety net – it’s about combining complementary skills and perspectives to achieve outcomes that exceed what’s possible individually.
Evidence over convention
We base our practice on measurable outcomes rather than surgical tradition. Our protocols for enhanced recovery aren’t standard practice elsewhere, but our data shows they lead to shorter hospital stays and fewer complications. We follow evidence, not convention.
Technical precision
Microsurgery demands exceptional technical skill. We cultivate and maintain this precision through high-volume practice, peer review, and continuous refinement. Each surgeon in our group performs at least 40-50 free flap procedures annually – significantly more than the UK average – ensuring our technical abilities remain sharp.
Efficient excellence
We believe superior outcomes shouldn’t require longer hospital stays or recovery periods. Our approach proves that efficiency and excellence are complementary, not competing values. We measure success not just by flap survival rates but by how quickly patients can safely return to normal life.
Practical innovation
We innovate where it matters. From our enhanced recovery protocols to new flap techniques like the LUG flap, our innovations focus on practical improvements that benefit patients directly – not academic exercises or marginal advances.
Surgical honesty
We present realistic expectations based on evidence, not wishful thinking. When discussing symmetrisation, additional procedures, or potential complications, we speak plainly about what’s likely and what’s possible. This transparency extends to our results, which we track and share openly.
Collective advancement
We believe surgical knowledge improves through careful documentation, honest analysis, and open sharing of results. Our published work on discharge protocols, flap techniques, and complication measurements reflects our commitment to advancing the field through collective learning rather than protecting individual techniques.