Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery : JPRAS
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J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg · Jul 2012
Comparative StudyImmediate 1-stage vs. tissue expander postmastectomy implant breast reconstructions: a retrospective real-world comparison over 18 months.
Postmastectomy implant breast reconstruction is typically accomplished in a two-stage process involving a tissue expander that is later exchanged for a permanent implant. Adoption of an immediate one stage reconstruction (1-stage) approach, where feasible, has been slowed by surgeon perception that this method is less likely to achieve acceptable results. ⋯ The results show that surgeons in the United States achieved substantially similar results in immediate postmastectomy implant breast reconstructions with 1-stage and TE approaches in terms of patient complications and returns for reconstruction-related services over 18 months. As evolving mastectomy techniques make 1-stage implant reconstructions more attractive, we hope these findings will motivate researchers to compare the approaches in more strictly controlled clinical studies.