Doctor of Nursing Practice, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Logan, Utah
A nurse practitioner in plastic and reconstructive surgery who meets women at the very start of a breast cancer diagnosis and walks them through their reconstruction options.
In this conversation
Whitney Collins is a doctor nurse practitioner who earned her doctorate from the University of Utah in 2020. She worked as a nurse for about eight years before becoming a nurse practitioner, and she has spent the last six years in plastic and reconstructive surgery with a practice in Logan. Her father was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died in 2018, an experience she says lets her sympathize with some of what her patients are carrying.
Much of her work begins at the very start of the breast cancer journey, often before genetic testing is back or an MRI has been read. She explains lumpectomy and mastectomy, implant-based and tissue-based reconstruction, tissue expanders wrapped in AlloDerm, and fat grafting, along with the 1998 law requiring most insurers to cover breast cancer surgery and reconstruction. Filling tissue expanders, she says, is one of her favorite parts of the job.
On Healing at Your Core, Whitney Collins joined Bree Allred, who brings her own experience as a breast cancer survivor, for a conversation about breast surgery and reconstruction options. They talked through what shapes the lumpectomy or mastectomy decision, how expanders and implants work, what the first two weeks after surgery involve, why drains are often the hardest part, and why honest expectations and emotional support matter alongside the surgical plan.
EP. 14 · Oct 15, 2026
Nurse practitioner Whitney Collins explains breast reconstruction options after mastectomy: implants, DIEP flap, tissue expanders, recovery and expectations.
Watch, listen, and read the episodeA few grounded takeaways from Whitney’s conversation with Bree.
Whitney Collins meets many patients before genetic testing or MRI results are complete. She uses that first visit to lay out every option so a woman understands the road before she is asked to choose a direction.
Implant-based reconstruction most often uses round, smooth silicone, while tissue-based reconstruction uses a woman's own tissue, commonly a DIEP flap from the abdomen. A latissimus flap tends to be a later option if other approaches fail.
The expander works like a deflated balloon with an internal port. Saline is added gradually to stretch skin safely and let blood supply reestablish, and it usually stays in place about three months before the final implant.
Whitney Collins points to a law passed in 1998 requiring most insurance companies to cover breast cancer surgery and reconstruction, including procedures on the other side for symmetry.
A reconstructed breast will not look exactly like it did before. For women in a healthy enough mental space, Whitney Collins suggests reviewing post-operative images so expectations line up with what surgery can actually do.
Explore more guest features or hear the full episode with Whitney Collins.
