The effect of wound complications following mastectomy with immediate reconstruction on breast cancer recurrence

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether complications following mastectomy with immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) were associated with breast cancer recurrence. Methods: A retrospective review was performed of women diagnosed with stage breast cancer who underwent mastectomy with IBR between 2005 and 2010. Patient demographics, tumor data, surgical wound complications, treatment details and timing were recorded and analyzed. Results: We identified 458 women with a median follow up time of 7.6 years. A total of 22% of patients experienced IBR complications. There was a delay in initiation of adjuvant therapy in patients who had a complication (52 vs 41 days, p <0.001). There was no significant difference in recurrences between groups with and without complications (p = 0.65). Conclusions: In breast cancer patients who undergo mastectomy with IBR, wound complications delayed initiation of adjuvant systemic therapy, but were not associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.