A Clinical Study of Subcutaneous Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction as Treatment for Early Breast Carcinoma

ABSTRACT

Immediate breast reconstruction following subcutaneous mastectomy for early breast carcinoma remains controversial. According to the recent reports however, it has become a recommendable option for the care of breast cancer patients whether it involves prosthetic implantation or myocutaneous flap procedure. Many technical problems have been introduced to reconstruct the breast; choice of incision, volume estimation, mobility of skin flap including nipple-areolar complex, irregularity of flap thickness, location of inframammary fold and choice of implant type. We have experienced 43 cases of immediate breast reconstruction by using tissue expander, breast implant and transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous(TRAM) flap after subcutaneous mastectomy. We believe that immediate breast reconstruction with autogenous tissue is very satisfactory in aesthetic, economic aspects, whereas reconstruction with prosthetic implantation is a convenient method but prone to unsatisfactory long-term results.