Breast Reconstruction - Research Paper Example

The objective of the article is to bring out a comparison between the outcomes of immediate latissimus dorsi mycocutaneous flap, also known as Lat Flap, to tissue/expander implant, EI, reconstruction after mastectomy followed by Post Mastectomy Radiation Therapy (PMRT). It is also noted that PMRT, however, has an effect of increasing surgical complication risks and may cause adverse effects on the reconstructed breast. The sample size of the study is 29, women with invasive breast cancer who were treated between 2009 and 2011 in the same institution.

There was a median follow-up of 11 and 13 months for Lat Flap and EI respectively, after completion of post mastectomy radiation therapy, which showed a trend of wound complications that required reoperation that included expander/implant los in the EI group (Durkan et al., 2012). Through the comparison, capsular contracture turned out to be the most sequel of PMRT in the group of Lat Flap with 67%. It was, however, treated with capsulotomy during the time of nipple-areola reconstruction. The comparison ultimately suggests immediate breast reconstruction with a latissimus dorsi mycocutaneous flap to be a workable option for women undergoing mastectomy, who are likely to require chest wall irradiation. . and treated with mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction that was followed by post mastectomy radiation therapy between February 23, 2009, and June 24, 2011.

The team then did an analysis of the medical charts with respect to various variable including; unilateral or bilateral mastectomy, tumor size and characteristics, age of the patient, lymph node involvement, BRCA mutadon status, radiation therapy, chemotherapy use, type of reconstructive surgery performed, completion of reconstruction, total number of operations, length of follow-up, need for revision after final reconstruction, and complications including capsular contracture, wound infection, and implant loss (Durkan et al 2012).

The methods of reconstruction employed at the institution were based on patients’ preferences and surgeon discretion. There was no precise protocol referring patients to a particular reconstruction type. There was an x2 test of proportions which was employed for the evaluation of associations for non-continuous data, while continuous variables were reported as median values and an analysis made using Student’s unpaired t test. A P value of < 0.05 was considered significant. In the view of the article, the question to be answered is brought out as a demonstration of wound complication rate differences between Lat Flap and EI reconstructions in the setting of post mastectomy radiation therapy.

The study population is selected after a careful review, data is obtained, analyzed, interpreted and eventually a conclusion was drawn. Section 2 Statistical methods The team upon approval collected data from radiation oncology database with the aim of interpreting and doing an analysis that would lead to the arrival at a conclusion of comparing the outcomes of immediate latissimus dorsi