Single Stage Direct-to-Implant Breast Reconstruction Has Lower Complication Rates Than Tissue Expander and Implant and Comparable Rates to Autologous Reconstruction in Patients Receiving Postmastectomy Radiation

Abstract

Purpose: To compare single-stage direct-to-implant (DTI) immediate reconstruction to the commonly used 2-stages expander and implant (TE/I) or autologous reconstruction with focus on postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) setting.

Methods and materials: We reviewed the charts of 1,286 patients who underwent 1,814 breast reconstructions at our institution with and without PMRT from 1997 to 2017. Patients were divided into 6 groups according to type of reconstruction and PMRT status. Primary objective was reconstruction complications defined solely on surgical reintervention operative notes such as infection, skin necrosis, and fat necrosis across all groups. Implant-related complications such as capsular contracture, implant rupture or exposure, or implant failure were compared between TE/I and DTI. Kaplan-Meier estimates were used to calculate 5-year cumulative incidence of complications. The secondary objective was to compare the 3 reconstruction types in settings of immediate reconstruction followed by PMRT on multivariable analysis.

Results: Median follow-up was 5.8 years. Among 1286 patients, 41.1% (N = 529/1286) received PMRT. Among 1814 reconstructed breasts, autologous, single-stage, and TE/I represented 18.7%, 34.8%, and 46.2%, respectively. With no PMRT, the 5-year cumulative incidence of any reconstruction complication was 11.1%, 12.6%, and 19.5% for autologous, DTI, and TE/I reconstructions, respectively. The addition of PMRT resulted in 5-year cumulative incidence of 15.1%, 18.2%, and 36.8%, respectively. The multivariable analysis showed that DTI was associated with lesser complications compared with TE/I, whereas no significant difference was noted between DTI and autologous.

Conclusions: Single-stage DTI reconstruction had significantly lower complication rates than TE/I with and without PMRT. Single-stage complication rates were not significantly different from autologous complication rates in PMRT settings. Single-stage reconstruction may offer a valuable option for patients receiving PMRT.