Summary
Background
Because of improved aesthetic results, immediate breast reconstruction has become
the most widely used timing of reconstruction following mastectomy. Many studies report
complication rates between immediate and delayed reconstructions at certain medical
institutions, but no systematic reviews exist to summarize the literature. This systematic
review was conducted to assess the outcomes in women who underwent immediate versus
delayed breast reconstruction following mastectomy for breast cancer.
Methods
Cochrane, PubMed, and EMBASE electronic databases were screened, and data were extracted
from included studies. The clinical outcomes assessed were surgical complications,
length of postoperative hospital stay, and reoperation rate.
Results
A total of 30 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review and provided enough
data to be included in the meta-analysis (14,034 patients). Women receiving immediate
breast reconstruction were significantly more likely to experience surgical complications
(OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.03, 1.65; p = 0.03). Sensitivity analysis showed that women receiving
immediate reconstruction were also more likely to experience infection (OR 1.41, 95%
1.04, 1.92; p = 0.03) and hematoma/seroma (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.27–3.17; p = 0.003).
Furthermore, a separate sensitivity analysis showed no significant differences in
reported outcomes when comparing studies whose patient cohorts received post-mastectomy
radiation therapy (PMRT).
Conclusions
This study provides evidence that immediate breast reconstruction generally increases
the risk of complications in comparison with delayed reconstruction. Additional prospective
and observational studies are needed to determine the role of PMRT and reconstruction
surgical technique in the incidence of complications between immediate and delayed
reconstructions.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 21, 2022
Accepted:
August 17,
2022
Received:
November 23,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
