AFTER completing his 100th breast cancer operation, a plastic surgeon still wants to raise awareness of a fairly unknown procedure.

Venkat Ramakrishnan has been performing the DIEP flap reconstructions at the Nuffield Health Brentwood Hospital since 2003, and met up with all his past patients and David Tee, Brentwood’s mayor, to celebrate reaching a century of operations.

The consultant plastic surgeon is determined to spread the word about the revolutionary operation and make sure all breast cancer patients know their options after having a mastectomy.

Dr Ramakrishnan is internationally renowned for work with the procedure and has been recognised as one of the top ten surgeons in the country for breast reconstruction.

The DIEP flap is a procedure which uses tissue from the patient’s tummy to reconstruct breasts without having to use an implant after a mastectomy.

Alongside the reconstruction, the use of the tissue means each patient also gets a tummy tuck.

Despite receiving the gold standard of breast reconstruction and making them look more natural after a mastectomy, many women going through the cancer are still unaware of the procedure.

Figures show 43 per cent of women in Essex who have a mastectomy get immediate reconstruction done, with the national average being 20 per cent.

Dr Ramakrishnan said: “It has been fantastic to meet all my patients again and chat to them about how they are doing.

“I really hope the event helps to raise awareness of this procedure as I’ve seen such positive outcomes. It has been one of the proudest days of my life.”

During the event, Dr Ramakrishnan released 100 pink balloons to mark the occasion, which falls in Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Staff from the hospital wore pink clothing and held a cake sale to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.