Surgical Outcome Measures in a Cohort of Patients at High Risk of Breast Cancer Treated by Bilateral Risk-Reducing Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction

Background: Women with breast cancer–related genetic pathogenic variants (e.g., BRCA1, BRCA2) or with a strong family history carry lifetime risks of developing breast cancer of up to 80 to 90 percent. A significant proportion of these women proceed to bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy. The authors aimed to document the surgical morbidity of risk-reducing mastectomy and establish whether a diagnosis of breast cancer at the time of surgery impacted outcomes. Methods: Clinical details of 445 women identified as having a greater than 25 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer who underwent risk-reducing mastectomy and breast reconstruction were interrogated for surgical outcomes such as planned, unplanned, and emergency procedures; complication rates; length of stay; and longevity of breast reconstruction. These outcome measures were recorded in women diagnosed with breast cancer perioperatively (cancer group) and those without malignancy (benign group). Results: Median follow-up was similar in both groups (benign group, 70 months; cancer group, 73 months). Patients were older in the cancer group than in the benign group (43 years versus 39 years; p
Source: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Category: Cosmetic Surgery Tags: Breast: Original Articles Source Type: research