A Picture of Breast Reconstruction in a Public Oncology Hospital in Latin America: A Ten-Year Experience.

OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant tumor among women worldwide, with the sole exception of non-melanoma skin cancer. Currently, one of the most common treatments in Brazil is modified radical mastectomy, which, although effective, leads to both physical and psychological complications. In this context, breast reconstruction seeks to restore the functional and psychosocial health of women. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of breast reconstructions after mastectomy by comparing immediate and delayed reconstructions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective observational study, which was performed by analyzing the electronic medical records of the Erasto Gaertner Hospital in Curitiba, Brazil, from between January 2007 and December 2017. RESULTS: After applying exclusion criteria, we analyzed a total of 268 medical records from January 2010 to December 2017. The most frequent histological type was invasive ductal carcinoma. Patients treated after 2014 had a higher number of immediate reconstructions, and the most commonly used method was alloplastic reconstruction using expanders (66.5%). There was no significant difference in the frequency of immediate or late complications between patients who opted for immediate or delayed reconstructions. The most common immediate complication was surgical wound dehiscence, and the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with a higher rate of complications in immediate reconstructions. CONCLUSION: The current preference is for immediate reconstructions with breast tissue expanders in combination with chemotherapy, which follows a trend in Brazil and worldwide that has been identified in the literature. Finally, the growth in immediate reconstructions with no associated increase in complications demonstrates the effectiveness of this practice.

The Richieri-Costa and Pereira syndrome: report of two Brazilian siblings and review of literature.

Richieri-Costa and Pereira syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized specially by Pierre Robin sequence with cleft mandible and limb anomalies. There are a typical laryngeal anomaly which encompass short and round larynx, absent or abnormal epiglottis, and abnormal aryepiglottic folds. Most patients reported were from Brazil. We describe a brother and sister with Richieri-Costa and Pereira syndrome on another Brazilian family documenting their physical findings and laryngeal defects. We also review the literature and discuss the main clinical characteristics and etiology.

Transareolar incision with geometric broken line for breast augmentation: a novel approach.

Along with implant location and size, incision location is an important variable that influences the final result of breast augmentation. The transareolar approach is not popular because of reported lactational difficulties, higher rates of capsular contracture, visibility of scars, and potential changes in nipple sensation. We describe a geometric zigzag transareolar incision for breast augmentation that can achieve imperceptible scarring. We believe that in selected patients the transareolar zigzag incision has its place among the different approaches used in breast augmentation today.