Psychologic effects and esthetic results of breast reconstruction after mastectomy.

A survey was conducted on 84 patients who chose to have breast reconstruction after mastectomy. A self-rating questionnaire was sent to each patient by mail to collect as much information about the patient as possible: individual status, reasons for requesting breast reconstruction, acceptance and advantages of having the new breast, satisfaction with the overall esthetic results, amount of patient information regarding breast reconstruction, and the source of this information. Once the questionnaire was completely filled out, it was returned by mail to the persons conducting this study. Fourty-three patients (51% of sample) replied with a completed questionnaire. When all the data for this survey were collected, an interesting factor emerged: 33 patients (76.7% of those who replied) reported being substantially satisfied with the esthetic results of their operation. When asked about the reasons for requesting breast reconstruction, 16 patients asserted their request was based on the desire to prove to themselves that they had overcome the disease, and 16 to improve body image. When asked about the advantages of breast reconstruction, 17 patients believed the operation would help improve inner feelings about the loss of the breast. Thus breast reconstruction is indeed an element of prime importance to mastectomized women, especially for their physical and psychological rehabilitation.

[Cutaneous epitheliomas induced by ionizing radiation during radiotherapy. Presentation of 35 cases]. / Sugli epiteliomi cutanei indotti da radiazioni ionizzanti in radioterapia. Presentazione di 35 casi.

Thirty five cases of carcinomas of the skin, presumably induced by ionizing radiation therapy are reported. There was a precise topographic relationship between the site of irradiation and that of onset of tumor; in 31 cases, there were multiple neoplastic foci in the skin area exposed to ionizing radiation; a sufficiently long period of time had elapsed from the time of exposure to ionizing radiation to the clinical diagnosis of induced tumor; cases in which there were cutaneous carcinomas in other parts of the body as well as in the skin area exposed to the radiation were excluded from the series. Almost all patients had been subjected to ionizing radiation for treatment of benign diseases and 29 for arthrosis. The median age of the patients at the time of exposure to the ionizing radiation was 33,33 years. The radiation dose to which the patients had been subjected varied from 10 to 25 Gy; this dose is rather low, however it is in this dose range, according to Gray, a relatively high incidence of induced tumor is verified. The median interval between exposure to ionizing radiation and clinical finding of the tumor was 18.5 years. The carcinomas were observed almost always in the trunk and like spontaneous carcinomas at this site they were almost exclusively basal cell type.

Carbon dioxide laser in scalp tumor surgery.

The widespread application of the CO2 laser in surgical treatment of tumor led us to verify its usefulness in selected cases of scalp tumor. Twelve selected patients underwent CO2 laser surgical excision plus vaporization of the wound base for infiltrating tumors during 1980-82. All patients showed associated pathologies that interfered with the traditional surgical excision and with anesthesiological practices. Our experience has confirmed the effectiveness of the laser technique under these conditions and with respect to subsequent plastic restoration.