Latissimus (LATS) Flap Technique This technique became very popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It is most useful when the lower chest wall tissues are tight or thin or when there has been some localized radiation damage after the mastectomy.
A breast implant is generally used along with the broad, fan-shaped back muscle (latissimus dorsi) and a segment of overlying skin, which is rotated around to the chest wall to replace tissue removed during the mastectomy.