Type of breast reconstruction impacts radiation therap...(the chest wall and exchanging it for a p...),Health

This study involved the largest reported series of patients who sequentially underwent mastectomy, immediate reconstruction and postmastectomy radiation therapy. Ninety-two patients were observed for 38 months following their reconstruction and radiation treatments, and researchers found that ATR is better tolerated by breast cancer patients because it is associated with fewer long-term complications and better cosmetic results than TE/I.

None of the 23 ATR patients required surgical intervention, while 33 percent of TE/I patients needed surgery to correct a problem with their reconstruction. Eighty-three percent of ATR patients reported acceptable cosmetic outcome, as opposed to only 54 percent of TE/I patients.

"This study is useful for patients who are candidates for either ATR or TE/I and are making a decision with regards to reconstruction technique," Jigna Jhaveri, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at Advanced Radiation Centers of New York in Hauppauge, N.Y., said. "Our study provides evidence that patients who undergo autologous tissue reconstruction and radiation therapy have fewer long term complications and better cosmetic outcomes than those who undergo tissue expander/ implant reconstruction and radiation therapy."

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