ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: There has been much reported data showing that breast reconstruction surgery does not result in reduced patient survival if the accepted principles of cancer surgery are closely followed. The proper reconstructive technique can be selected according to diverse factors, but breast size and the site of tumor are mostly important. The latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap (LDMCF) is one of the most commonly used techniques for early breast cancer patients who have small breasts. But, it has difficulties for supplying enough tissues to the widely excised tumor site. Especially for ptosis patients, reduction mammoplasty by itself is not enough to achieve symmetry of the breast. We suggest that the pectoralis major myomammary flap (PMMF) is a useful technique for the patients with ptosis. METHODS: Seventeen patients with ptosis were treated with breast conserving surgery with PMMF reconstruction. A quadrantectomy rather than lumpectomy was performed through a planned skin incision, and axillary lymph node dissection was performed according to the results of sentinel lymph node biopsy. The PMMF is carefully harvested without perforating branch injury to the internal thoracic artery. Reconstruction was done via the PMMF through the medial tunnel between both breasts. RESULTS: Among the seventeen patients, seroma occurred in two patients and no necrosis occurred at all. The cosmetic result was fair in 15 patients and poor in two patients, based on the four-point scoring system of breast cosmetics. CONCLUSION: After performing enough quadrantectomy to adhere to the accepted principles of cancer surgery, PMMF was quite useful to supply enough proper tissues for breast reconstructions, and especially for the ptosis patients.