• Patrick Collier, Jeffrey Williams, Gautam Edhayan, Kamala Kanneganti, and Elango Edhayan.
• Department of Surgery, St John Hospital and Medical Center, 22151 Moross Suite 212, Detroit, MI 48236, USA. Electronic address: patrick.collier@stjohn.org.
• Am. J. Surg. 2014 Mar 1;207(3):408-11; discussion 410-1.

BackgroundThe optimal timing of postmastectomy radiation for women undergoing delayed permanent implant exchange continues to remain controversial. The objective of our study is to compare complication rates when tissue expanders are exchanged for permanent implants pre- vs postradiation.MethodsA retrospective review of 54 consecutive patients who underwent implant-based breast reconstruction and received postmastectomy radiation was conducted. Complications including infection, implant loss, and capsular contracture (measured in Baker score) were compared between the 2 groups.ResultsOf the patients studied, 32 patients had radiation before placement of permanent implants, whereas 22 patients received radiation after implant placement. There was no difference in individual complication rates between the 2 groups.ConclusionsIn our study of 54 patients, the timing of radiation did not affect individual complication rates for patients who underwent implant-based breast reconstruction after immediate tissue expander placement.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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