Impact of Immediate Breast Reconstruction on Survival of Breast Cancer Patients: A Single-Center Observational Study.

Although immediate breast reconstruction following mastectomy has become increasingly common, its oncological safety has been debated. We enrolled patients with breast cancer who underwent surgery at Okayama University Hospital between 2007 and 2013. The primary outcome was relapse-free survival (RFS). Secondary outcomes were overall survival and the duration from the surgery to the initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy. We divided into immediate breast reconstruction, mastectomy alone, and breast conservative surgery groups. Outcomes were compared using Cox's regression analysis. A total of 614 patients were included (reconstruction: 125, mastectomy: 128, breast conservative surgery: 361). The median follow-up duration was 79.0±31.9 months. The immediate-reconstruction patients were younger, had more lymph node metastases, and more often received postoperative chemotherapy. The RFS was better after the breast conservative surgery compared to after reconstruction (hazard ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval: 0.144-0.763). The proportion of local recurrence was highest in the reconstruction group. No patients in the reconstruction group underwent postoperative radiation therapy. However, reconstruction did not affect overall survival or the time to the initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy. Surgeons should explain the risks of breast reconstruction to their patients preoperatively. Careful long-term follow-up is required after such procedures.

Trends and issues in clinical research on satisfaction and quality of life after mastectomy and breast reconstruction: a 5-year scoping review.

Breast reconstruction (BR) aims to improve the satisfaction and quality of life (QOL) of breast cancer survivors. Clinical studies using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) can therefore provide relevant information to the patients and support decision-making. This scoping review was conducted to analyze recent trends in world regions, methods used, and factors investigated. The literature search was conducted in August 2022. Databases of PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were searched for relevant English-language studies published from 2017 to 2022. Studies involving women with breast cancer who underwent BR after mastectomy and investigated PROs after BR using BR-specific scales were included. Data on the country, publication year, study design, PRO measures (PROMs) used, time points of surveys, and research themes were collected. In total, 147 articles met the inclusion criteria. BREAST-Q was the most widely used, contributing to the increase in the number and diversification of studies in this area. Such research has been conducted mainly in North America and Europe and is still developing in Asia and other regions. The research themes involved a wide range of clinical and patient factors in addition to surgery, which could be influenced by research methods, time since surgery, and even cultural differences. Recent BR-specific PROMs have led to a worldwide development of research on factors that affect satisfaction and QOL after BR. PRO after BR may be influenced by local cultural and social features, and it would be necessary to accumulate data in each region to draw clinically useful conclusion.

An observational study of the impact of immediate breast reconstruction on perioperative inflammatory cytokines.

PURPOSE: Perioperative inflammatory cytokines may be related to cancer proliferation, although few studies have investigated this issue in patients undergoing breast reconstruction surgery. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of patients scheduled for mastectomy only, mastectomy plus deep inferior epigastric perforator flap reconstruction (DIEP), or mastectomy plus tissue expander reconstruction (TE), with or without axial dissection (Ax), for primary breast cancer. Blood samples were collected for analysis of serum IL-6 and VEGF preoperatively, then within 24 h postoperatively (POD 1), and 4-6 days postoperatively (POD 4-6). We investigated the difference in serum cytokine levels over time for each surgical procedure and the difference in serum cytokine levels among the procedures at the three measurement time points. RESULTS: There were 120 patients included in the final analysis. Serum IL-6 was significantly higher than the preoperative level on POD 1 in patients who underwent mastectomy only, DIEP, or TE and Ax (+), with higher values persisting on POD 4-6 except in those who underwent DIEP. IL-6 was significantly higher after DIEP than after mastectomy only on POD 1, but no differences were observed at POD 4-6. VEGF did not differ significantly among the surgical procedures at any time. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in IL-6 was short term and immediate breast reconstruction is considered a safe procedure.

The new bioabsorbable sheet for the sling method in immediate breast reconstruction with expander-implant: a study protocol for interventional prospective study.

The popularity of a sling method using biomaterial sheets for immediate breast reconstruction based on prosthesis has been increasing in western countries. However, acellular dermal matrix, which is representative of the biomaterial sheet, is not available and the sling method also has not been accepted in Japan. We focused on a new bioabsorbable sheet (NEOVEIL sheet) as a substitute for the sling method and report a prospective study protocol to assess the safety and effectiveness of this material. This was an ongoing, single center, open-label, single-arm study. Inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria are defined restrictively. If the surgeon determined that the perfusion of skin envelope after mastectomy is poor, the surgical procedure can be modified and that patient was excluded from the study. The primary outcome was the incidence of tissue expansion or implant explantation occurring within 1 month after surgery. The secondary outcomes are as follows: (1) aesthetic outcome using a rating scale; (2) symmetry of the nipple areolar complex position; (3) patient reported outcomes using BREAST-Q; (4) pain intensity using the Visual Analog Scale; (5) histology of the capsule around the tissue expander; (6) inflation volume at the first stage and overall inflation time of expansion; and (7) other adverse events regarding the surgery. This study will determine the safety and effectiveness of the sling method using a NEOVEIL sheet in Japanese women.

The Novel Eryngii Method of Nipple Reduction for Female-to-Male Transsexuals.

Mastectomy is usually the first and most important surgical procedure in female-to-male (FTM) individuals with gender identity disorder. Nipple reduction is also important in the process of reconstructing the chest wall for a more male appearance. If the nipples remain large after a mastectomy, the results may be disappointing to many FTM transsexuals. Nipple reduction enables these individuals to go to the beach or Japanese public baths, where they may go topless in public. We therefore consider that nipple reduction is indicated for all FTM transsexuals who desire it. There are a variety of methods for the reduction of enlarged nipples for women or non-FTM patients, but only a few reports have described the process used to create masculine-appearing nipples for FTM transsexuals. We developed a novel technique called the Eryngii method for creating male-like nipples using a 4-mm diameter dermal punch knife. The name of the method refers to the Eryngii king trumpet mushroom, which the nipple resembles after the surgical process. The main strength of this method is that it permits the creation of ideal nipples without difficulty. Here we introduce the technique and discuss our history of surgical methods for nipple reduction, including improvements and elaborations.

Risk Factors for Postoperative Hematoma after Chest Wall Contouring for Female-to-Male Transsexuals: A Clinical Study.

Gender dysphoria is a condition in which a discrepancy between biological sex and gender identity causes distress. Many female-to-male transsexuals (FTMTS) are uncomfortable with female breasts. Chest wall contouring surgery is effective for obtaining a male-type chest, reducing mental stress, and increasing sexual satisfaction in such cases. At the Okayama University Hospital Gender Center, we have obtained positive results using an algorithm to determine the most appropriate surgical method for chest wall contouring in FTMTS patients. However, serious complications requiring reoperation, such as hematoma, may still occur. Postoperative hematomas were found in 15 (4.18%) of 358 FTMTS patients who underwent chest contouring surgery at our hospital between 2006 and 2018. Postoperative hematoma was examined retrospectively. The median time to the onset of hematoma was 7 (6-12) h after the initial surgery. The main blood vessels causing bleeding were those in the head-side skin flap region where visual confirmation was difficult and the perforator vessels from the pectoralis major muscle. Intraoperative bleeding and the operation time had a significant impact on the onset of postoperative hematoma. This is the first retrospective study that investigated the blood vessels and other factors contributing to postoperative hematoma development after chest wall contouring.

Laparoscopic Rectosigmoid Colon Vaginoplasty in Male-to-Female Transsexuals: Experience in Japan.

Intestinal vaginoplasty has several advantageous features, such as scarless surgery, low incidence of contraction of the reconstructed vagina, maintenance of vaginal depth, spontaneous mucus production, and a low rate of complications. Therefore, this technique is becoming popular in many countries. Following the global trend, the demand for intestinal vaginoplasty for transsexuals is also increasing in Japan. However, there are few reports on intestinal vaginoplasty in Japan. In this study, we examined the safety and effectiveness of rectosigmoid colon vaginoplasty in the Japanese population. We retrospectively surveyed 18 male-to-female transsexuals who underwent laparoscopic rectosigmoid colon vaginoplasty at the Okayama University Hospital Gender Center between October 2012 and December 2017. One patient had developed an anastomotic leak and 2 patients experienced vaginal prolapse, which needed revision surgery. Both adverse outcomes were comparable with those from previous studies. The anastomotic leak was managed adequately with conservative treatment. To avoid vaginal prolapse, it is important to decide the length of the rectosigmoid segment so that a pull on it does not cause it to become lax, while excessive stress on the feeder vessels is avoided. Based on our study, we concluded that rectosigmoid vaginoplasty was a reliable technique in the Japanese population.

Vaginoplasty with a Pudendal-groin Flap in Male-to-female Transsexuals.

Many vaginoplasty techniques have been introduced to improve the outcomes of sex reassignment surgery for male-to-female transsexuals. Some vaginoplasty patients still require additional skin grafts, making dilation mandatory to overcome shrinkage. We developed a new vaginoplasty method (called the "pudendal-groin flap") that uses pudendal-groin flaps. One of this procedure's advantages is that skin grafts are unnecessary, even for patients with small penises and scrotums. We introduce the procedure here and describe our evaluation of its utility. We retrospectively analyzed the cases of the 15 patients who underwent vaginoplasty using pudendal-groin flaps from May 2010 to January 2016 at our institution. We compared the complications as well as the functional and aesthetic outcomes with those of previous studies. The most common complication was bleeding, which occurred at the corpus spongiosum or while creating a new vaginal cavity. Bleeding can be reduced with more careful hemostasis and dissection. Aside from inadequate vaginal depth in one patient, the incidence of other complications, sexual intercourse, and aesthetic outcomes were acceptable. The pudendal- groin flap is thin and pliable and can create sufficient vaginal depth without skin grafts. The resulting scar is inconspicuous. Our findings suggest that vaginoplasty using the pudendal-groin flap method is feasible.

Development of a Japanese version of the BREAST-Q and the traditional psychometric test of the mastectomy module for the assessment of HRQOL and patient satisfaction following breast surgery.

BACKGROUND: An understanding of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is of utmost importance in both oncological and esthetic breast surgery. The BREAST-Q is a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measure that investigates HRQOL and patient satisfaction before and after breast surgery. The aim of this study was to develop a Japanese version of the BREAST-Q including the mastectomy module, the reconstruction module, the augmentation module and the reduction/mastopexy module, and to assess the psychometric properties of the mastectomy module among Japanese women. METHODS: The Japanese version of the BREAST-Q was developed through forward translation, backward translation and patient testing. Traditional psychometric testing of the mastectomy module was administered to 45 post-mastectomy patients. RESULTS: The mastectomy, reconstruction, augmentation and reduction/mastopexy modules were formally developed into Japanese. Despite cultural difference between Japanese women and original target population, the contents were considered to be valid among Japanese woman. With the exception of the sexual well-being subscale, good reliability and validity were evident for the mastectomy module (Test-retest reliability 0.76-0.95, Chronbach's alpha coefficient 0.77-0.98). CONCLUSIONS: The BREAST-Q Japanese version is a useful PRO measure for investigating the impact of breast surgery on HRQOL and patient satisfaction. Further validation in younger Japanese women is needed to determine the usefulness of the sexual well-being subscale.