A new type of surgery could mean that women who lose a breast to cancer can have a reconstruction at the same time as her mastectomy.

"(Patients) can go right from having a mastectomy to waking up with a breast," said Dr. Michael Miller, a plastic surgeon at Ohio State University Medical Center.

Miller often stands side-by-side in the same operating room as cancer surgeons. As soon as they remove a cancerous breast, Miller immediately steps in to replace it. He said that although there are many ways to replace the breast, he prefers using fatty tissue from a woman's stomach, which reduces the size of her abdomen and gives him the best chance to create a successful breast replacement.

"The tissue borrowed from there is easiest to work with, it's got the most reliable blood supply, the resulting scar from taking the tissue from there is more easily concealed," said Miller.

Miller can also use tissue from a woman's thighs or back, and in some cases, he can use implants. He said none of the options will interfere with cancer treatment.

While not every woman who has a breast removed is a candidate for same-day breast reconstruction surgery, Miller said the vast majority of women don't even realize it's an option.

He said any time a woman is facing surgery for breast cancer she should include a plastic surgeon as part of the treatment team.