Abstract:

Background and purpose: Along with the development of diagnosis and treatment technology, the disease free survival and overall survival of breast cancer have been extended. In order to improve the quality of life after mastectomy, more and more breast reconstructions were applied in breast cancer patients. We retrospectively reviewed 118 cases of free abdominal flaps for breast reconstruction performed in Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Clinical outcomes, reconstructive techniques and experiences are discussed. Methods: From November, 2006 to June, 2013, we used free abdominal flaps to perform 118 cases of breast reconstruction on 117 female patients after mastectomy. We observed the surgery, complications and safety of this technic. Results: We performed 118 cases of flaps based on deep inferior epigastric vessels. The average operation time was 7.72 h. The average time of ischemia was 78.74min. The average anastomosis time was 60.83min. The average number of perforators included in the flap was 3. The internal thoracic vessels were preferred recipient vessels. Ten cases of vessel crisis occurred and 6 of them were venous thrombosis and 4 cases were venous kink. Seven of them were salvaged, and the other 3 failed, the success rate was 97.46%. Postoperative infection rate was 7.00%. Abdominal bulge occurred in 3.50% of patients. None of the patients developed abdominal hernia. The median interval between surgery and the first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy was 19 days. The median follow-up time was 12 months. One case of distant metastasis, but no local recurrence was observed. Conclusion: Although free abdominal flap breast reconstruction requires complicated microsurgical techniques, and the learning curve does exist, free abdominal flap breast reconstruction has a high success rate with oncological safety and few complications.

Key words: Breast cancer, Breast reconstruction, Free abdominal flap, Microsurgery