Michelle,
Yes, in Diep procedures they dissect out the abdominal blood vessels they need for your new breasts instead of taking a small chunk of muscle from your abdomen for the new blood supply. Scarring is minimal on the breast if it is immediate reconstruction- which I assume yours would be? Check out the "immediate" section of the link I have below.
I did have nipple reconstruction and areola tattoo. Even up close, they are pretty natural looking. I am very happy with the results! You do end up with an impressive abdominal scar. Mine ended up way above my panty line (it varies from person to person) and I hated it- so I am having a delicate henna-looking tattoo done across it. It is very pretty and you don't notice the scar at all- a distraction strategy. And I used to think plastic surgery and tattoos for just for a mid-life crisis- LOL.
It may not be easy to find a qualified microsurgeon who also performs breast reconstruction. I had to travel 4 hours to a big city (SF), but it was worth it. Here is a link to my surgeon's website. On the home page there is a star-like diagram and if you look close- this is the star flap technique they can use to create a nipple.
http://www.microsurgery.net/index.html
Best of luck to you on your decision. I assumed there would be strong medical opinion on whether or not I should have both sides done. In other words- tell me what to do people! I had to sniff out the facts and decide for myself what would work for me. And all my docs (gen sx, onc, rad onc) backed me up 100%.
So how far along are you on your risk vs. benefit graph? LOL And why is there no manual?