Review of Procedures for Reconstruction of Soft Tissue Chest Wall Defects Following Advanced Breast Malignancies

Fold Flaps to the Rescue in Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction

SUMMARY

Ischemic complications following postmastectomy breast reconstruction are not uncommon and can lead to reconstructive failure, especially with implant reconstruction. The authors propose a simple local flap for management of such complications. This flap is easily raised from the upper abdomen or lateral chest as a medially or laterally based fasciocutaneous flap, and the donor site is hidden in the inframammary or lateral mammary fold. The authors present a case series of these "fold flaps" that were used to manage complications following implant-based breast reconstruction. All patients between 2007 and 2021 who underwent a fold flap for breast reconstruction salvage were queried from a prospectively maintained database. Demographic variables, clinical factors, and surgical details were analyzed. Outcomes assessed included complications, appropriate wound healing, and reconstructive salvage. Fourteen patients underwent thoracoepigastric or thoracoabdominal fold flaps following breast reconstruction for soft-tissue coverage with an underlying prosthesis. The mean age was 54 years, mean body mass index was 30 kg/m 2 , and mean follow-up duration was 18.5 months. Fold flap indications included mastectomy skin flap necrosis ( n = 9), infection ( n = 4), and chronic seroma ( n = 1). Eleven reconstructions (79%) were salvaged and three (21%) required eventual prosthesis explantation secondary to infection or delayed wound healing. Fold flaps are a reliable option for managing ischemic complications following postmastectomy breast reconstruction. The benefits include improved soft-tissue coverage with a high salvage rate. These flaps are simple to raise, and their donor site is concealed within the folds. Furthermore, they provide a reliable early option to manage complications and potentially prevent reconstructive failure.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, IV.

Chimeric ALT Plus TFL Perforator Flap for Breast Reconstruction Post Radical Mastectomy with Large Skin Defect

A 17-year-old girl with large malignant phyllodes tumor of left breast underwent a radical mastectomy with large skin excision resulting in defect of 20 cm × 18 cm. Postoperative radiation therapy necessitated robust cover with flap. The challenge was compounded by her body habitus. Both abdomen and back were deficient as donor sites and a single-island anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap would need skin grafts, volume deficit withstanding. We harvested chimeric ALT plus tensor fascia lata (TFL) perforator free flap sparing all muscles and nerves. Microvascular anastomoses were done to the second internal mammary artery (IMA) perforator artery and vein. The donor site was closed primarily. The TFL flap territory recruited almost three times the volume of ALT territory and allowed us to create a matching breast mound in addition to covering the defect. She tolerated 40 Gy radiation well and doesn’t desire further augmentation. Consistency of ALT and TFL perforators makes this a replicable procedure.

Skin grafting utilizing a skin of lateral thoracic area for chest wall reconstruction in patient who underwent mastectomy for locally advanced breast cancer

Locally advanced breast cancer sometimes results in a large chest wall defect at mastectomy. When closing the wound horizontally, the skin tension is usually severe in the middle of the wound, while the skin of the lateral area tends to make a dog-ear deformity. Triangle technique is a procedure to prevent the dog ear in which the skin and subcutaneous fat of the axilla are cut into an equilateral triangle. Herein, we present a case of breast cancer who underwent a mastectomy and closed the wound with a skin graft by utilizing the skin removed from lateral thoracic area using triangle technique. An 85-year-old female visited our institution complaining about the mass on her right breast. Preoperative images showed a 10 cm-sized mass with suspicious axillary and mediastinal lymph nodes swelling. A biopsy revealed a hormone receptor-negative, HER2-positive invasive ductal carcinoma. A mastectomy and axillary lymph node sampling were performed for a local control as the tumor did not respond to four cycles of triweekly trastuzumab combined with S-1. After a transverse elliptical incision, a skin of the lateral thoracic area was harvested using triangle technique. As the middle of the wound had excessive closing tension, the skin was grafted on the defect. After 10 day fixation by a tie-over dressing, the wound healed without complications. This procedure is a simple method for closing a large defect after mastectomy preventing both the dog-ear deformity and a new wound scarring of a donor site.