Skin - sparing mastectomy with TRAM Reconstruction: a valuable option

ABSTRACT

In this study, 22 patients with stage I-II breast cancer underwent skin-spring mastectomy with unipedicled transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap. Fifteen cases had T2 and seven had T1 lesions. Twelve cases were clinically N0 and ten were N1. The pathology was an infiltrating duct carcinoma in twenty cases, infiltrating lobular carcinoma in one case and medullary in one case. Seventeen patients had grade II and five had grade 1 tumors. The operative time ranged from 5-7 with a mean of 6 hours with an estimated blood loss of 1 liter. Nineteen patients were satisfied with the final outcome and three were not satisfied. Objectively, eight cases h ad an excellent result, eleven had average results and three had fair results. Two cases had a partial necrosis of the breast skin, two had partial flap loss and one case had flap hematoma, wound infection, hernia and hypertrophic scar. Moreover, three cases had fat necrosis, one case of hypertrophic abdominal scar and one case had incisional hernia