Research was conducted from October 2011 to November 2016. The subjects included 23 patientswho underwent mastectomy due to breast cancer, received immediate reconstruction using an eLDMC flap without any adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and received a computed tomography (CT) scan from days 7 to 10 after surgery and 6 to 8 months postoperatively. In 10 patients, an additional CT scan was conducted 18 months postoperatively. Axial CT scans were utilized to measure the volumetric change of the latissimus dorsimuscle during the follow-up period.
RESULTS:
In the 23 patients, an average decrease of 54.5% was observed in the latissimus dorsimuscle volume between the images obtained immediately postoperatively and the scans obtained 6 to 8 months after surgery. Ten patients showed an average additional decrease of 11.9% from 6–8 months to 18 months after surgery.