Breast reconstruction statistics in Korea from the Big Data Hub of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service

BACKGROUND: Previously, surveys have been used to investigate breast reconstruction statistics. Since 2015, breast reconstruction surgery after mastectomy has been covered by the National Health Insurance Service in Korea, and data from breast reconstruction patients are now available from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). We investigated statistics in breast reconstruction in Korea through statistics provided by the HIRA Big Data Hub. METHODS: We investigated the number of cases in mastectomy and breast reconstruction methods from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016. Data were furnished by the HIRA Big Data Hub and accessed remotely online. Results were tabulated using SAS Enterprise version 6.1. RESULTS: The 31,155 mastectomy cases included 7,088 breast reconstruction cases. Implant-based methods were used in 4,702 cases, and autologous methods in 2,386. The Implant-based reconstructions included 1,896 direct-to-implant and 2,806 tissue-expander (2-stage) breast reconstructions. The 2-stage tissue-expander reconstructions included 1,624 expander insertions (first stage) and 1,182 expander-to-permanent-implant exchanges (second stage). Of the autologous breast reconstructions, 705 involved latissimus dorsi muscle flaps, 498 involved pedicled transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flaps, and 1,183 involved free-tissue transfer TRAM flaps, including deep inferior epigastric perforator free-tissue transfer flaps. There were 1,707 nipple-areolar complex reconstructions, including 1,565 nipple reconstructions and 142 areola reconstructions. The 1-year mean number of breast reconstructions was 4,050. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first attempt to evaluate the total number of breast reconstruction procedures using accurate, comprehensive data, and our findings may prove valuable as a foundation for future statistical studies of breast reconstruction procedures in Korea.

Produção e disseminação da informação estatística: agências estaduais no Brasil / x

Discussão sobre os resultados de uma pesquisa que procurou caracterizar a produção e a política de disseminação de informações das agências estaduais de estatística. Em meio às dificuldades operacionais e orçamentárias, essas agências vêm procurando atender às demandas da sociedade e do planejamento público, com a ampliação do escopo temático investigado, disponibilização a informação estatística em suportes mais flexíveis e adoção de práticas mais ativas na disseminação de seus produtos.

Under discussion in this article are the results of a study aimed at evaluating the performance of public statistical services in producing and disseminating information. Despite operational and budgetary limitations, these entities seek to meet both the demands of the public and the needs of policy makers through a wider thematic scope, more flexible presentation of statistical information, and the adoption of more proactive dissemination practices.