Abstract
BACKGROUND: Traditional transverse mastectomies yield suboptimal results in women with higher body mass index, wide breast footprint, and ptotic breasts. An option for this patient population is a reduction-pattern style mastectomy, and recruiting an inferiorly based dermal flap using the lower mastectomy flap. This is analogous to a vascularized dermal matrix supporting the lower pole of the implant, termed "Autoderm" breast reconstruction. This allows for aesthetically appealing skin reduction mastectomies with the added safety of a vascularized dermal flap to facilitate an immediate direct-to-implant breast reconstruction. This study assesses patient satisfaction using the validated BRECON-31 questionnaire to enhance shared-decision making with women contemplating breast reconstruction. METHODS: A 2-year retrospective review of women who underwent Autoderm direct-to-implant breast reconstruction comparing patients who underwent unilateral and bilateral reconstruction in terms of characteristics, complications, and BRECON-31 scoring. RESULTS: Overall patient scores were high (81.6 of 100). In particular, women scored very high on self-image (85.0), arm concerns (86.4), intimacy (87.4), satisfaction (88.3), and expectations subscales (85.5). Women choosing bilateral reconstruction outperformed unilateral reconstruction in every subgroup, but only attained statistical significance in the "self-consciousness" subgroup. Compared with a historical cohort of a mix of implant reconstruction types, Autoderm patients showed improved satisfaction (88.3 versus 82.5; P = 0.07) and breast appearance (73.9 versus 66.8; P = 0.06), approaching significance. Safety was demonstrated by low major complications (4.7%) and low implant loss rates (2.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Autoderm breast reconstruction is a safe option in women with large, ptotic breasts, with patients reporting high satisfaction using a validated instrument.