Breast reconstruction in young women and their peculiarities

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: To evaluate the main features and methods used in breast reconstruction in young women considering their unique characteristics. METHODS: A retrospective records review of patients who underwent mastectomy followed by breast reconstruction between January 2008 and December 2015 was conducted, selecting those reconstructions that were performed in women younger than 40 years. RESULTS: Forty-three patients were selected. The average age was 33.86 years. Many had some comorbidities, the most common being overweight and anxiety/depressive disorder. Fourteen patients had a family history of the disease. Most were diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. Additional cancer treatments were administered in most cases. All patients underwent a full mastectomy in the breast with cancer, and in 16, there was the option of contralateral risk-reducing mastectomy. Of the 43 reconstructions, 36 were immediate and 7 were delayed, and 17 involved use of implants, 13 involved use of tissue expanders, 4 involved the TRAM, and 9 involved the GD. We observed 15 complications; the most severe were infection with reconstruction loss in one patient and areola necrosis in another. CONCLUSIONS: Young women undergoing breast reconstruction represent a population subgroup with its own characteristics. The tumors and personal and social patterns differ, and based on this long list of variables, treatment options are diverse. In our series, breast implants and tissue expanders were often most used.

Keywords

• breast neoplasms
• mastectomy
• mastectomy, radical
• young adult
• mammaplasty
• postoperative complications