Paradigm Shifts in Alloplastic Breast Reconstruction: A Nationwide Analysis of Direct-to-Implant Trends

BACKGROUND

Direct-to-implant breast reconstruction is an attractive choice for appropriately selected patients, as a single-stage procedure can enhance global metrics of care. In an era of high-value health care, therefore, it is important to investigate use of such procedures. This study investigated direct-to-implant trends over the past decade on a nationwide basis.

METHODS

This was a retrospective investigation of direct-to-implant reconstruction between 2010 and 2018 in the United States, using the National Inpatient Sample database. All study analyses were undertaken using Stata version 15.0.

RESULTS

The weighted sample included 287,093 women who underwent implant-based reconstruction between 2010 and 2018, of whom 43,064 (15%) underwent direct-to-implant reconstruction. Across the study period, the proportion of direct-to-implant procedures increased significantly ( P = 0.03), relative to staged and delayed implant-based procedures. Although direct-to-implant patients were younger and more likely to be White and privately insured, the proportion of non-White, publicly insured patients undergoing direct-to-implant reconstruction increased significantly by 2018 ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, direct-to-implant use among Medicaid patients was 2.2 times the rate in Medicaid expansion states compared with nonexpansion states. Direct-to-implant patients had significantly higher All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Group risk scores in 2018 than in 2010 ( P = 0.02), indicating expanding clinical indications for this procedure. Direct-to-implant reconstruction had significantly lower inpatient charges than staged procedures ( P = 0.03), when considering expander placement and expander-to-implant exchange.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, use of direct-to-implant breast reconstruction has significantly increased over the past decade, facilitated by expanding clinical indications and improved insurance coverage. However, certain disparities continue to exist. Further work should investigate drivers of disparities to allow continued expansion of direct-to-implant reconstruction as clinically appropriate.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, III.

Breast Implantation Rates in Israel: Is There a Change in Trend?

BACKGROUND

Breast implant illness (BII) is a rising concern among many patients. Although not fully understood, a connection between silicone breast implants and systemic diseases may be present. This connection may influence the types of breast surgeries performed.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate changing trends in breast surgeries in Israel over time, with regard to implantation, explantation, and implant exchange surgeries.

METHODS

In this ecological study, we presented data from four private medical centers in Israel regarding the number of breast implant surgeries performed in the years 2018-2019. Data were collected bi-yearly. The types of surgeries included breast implantation, explantation, and breast implant exchange.

RESULTS

When we summed and compared the yearly data, we saw that the number of implantations in 2018 was 2267 (80.1% of breast implant procedures that year), and 1929 (68.9%) in 2019. The number of implant exchanges in 2018 and 2019 was 482 (17.0%) and 608 (21.7%), respectively. In 2018, 80 (2.8%) explantations were performed and 262 (9.4%) in 2019.

CONCLUSIONS

There appears to be a trend in the rise of implant removal surgeries in addition to a decrease in breast implantations. One possible reason may be patient concerns of BII. Another reason may be the increased public interest and discussion about systemic effects of breast implants. More research is needed in this field to achieve better understanding of the phenomenon, the reasons behind it, and the possible solutions and ways of treatment.

Implant Shell Characteristics: The Science Behind the Surface

Modern breast implant design emphasizes the host response at the surface. Implant surfaces are characterized by their roughness, surface area, and potential for bacterial attachment. The future of implant design may lie in the ability of bioengineers to transform both the structure and chemical properties of the device surface and therefore affect potential long-term outcomes.

Public Interest in Breast Augmentation: Analysis and Implications of Google Trends Data

INTRODUCTION

Breast augmentation is the most common aesthetic surgery performed in the United States (US) annually. Analysis of Google Trends (GT) data may give plastic surgeons useful information regarding worldwide, national, and regional interest for breast augmentation and other commonly performed aesthetic surgeries.

METHODS

Data were collected using GT for breast augmentation and associated search terms from January 2004 to May 2017. Case volume was obtained from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) annual reports for the calendar year 2005-2016.

RESULTS

Trend analysis showed that total search term volume for breast augmentation and breast implants gradually decreased worldwide and in the US over the study period while the search term boob job slowly increased. Univariate linear regression demonstrated a statistically significant positive correlation between average annual Google search volume of "breast augmentation" and the annual volume of breast augmentations performed in the US according to ASPS data (R ² = 0.44, p = 0.018). There was no significant correlation between national volume of breast augmentations performed and search volume using the terms "breast implants" or "boob job" over time (p = 0.84 and p = 0.07, respectively). In addition, there appears to be country specific variation in interest based on time of year and peaks in interest following specific policies.

CONCLUSIONS

To our knowledge, this is the first and only analysis of GT data in the plastic surgery literature to date. To that end, this study highlights this large and potentially powerful data set for plastic surgeons both in the US and around the world.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Passé, présent et… avenir des prothèses mammaires

The past of breast implants is well known, the techniques seem to be up to date and the future definitely optimistic. Breast implants have been at the top of the polemic due to their complications. Technical innovations allow plastic surgeons to choose adequate types of breast implants and also improve the innocuity of this surgery. Due to the last juridic reglementation and behaviour's evolution, breast augmentation will probably keep its place at the top.

Trends in unilateral breast reconstruction and management of the contralateral breast: the Emory experience

Recent trends in breast reconstruction have transitioned toward the skin-sparing type of mastectomy and immediate reconstruction using autologous tissue. This study was designed to document trends in the management of patients with unilateral breast cancer and to determine how they influence management of the contralateral breast. All patients who underwent unilateral breast reconstruction at Emory University Hospitals from January of 1975 to December of 1999 were reviewed. The cohort was stratified by timing of reconstruction (immediate versus delayed), method of reconstruction, and mastectomy type (skin-sparing versus non-skin-sparing). The methods of reconstruction included implant, latissimus dorsi flap, and transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap. Contralateral procedures to achieve symmetry included augmentation, mastopexy, augmentation/mastopexy, and reduction. A total of 1394 patients were evaluated, including 689 delayed and 705 immediate reconstructions. Sixty-seven percent of delayed-reconstruction patients (462 of 689) had a symmetry procedure performed on the opposite breast, compared with 22 percent for the immediate-reconstruction patients (155 of 705) (p </= 0.001). The percentage of times a contralateral procedure was performed was highest for implant reconstructions (89 percent delayed and 57 percent immediate) and lowest for TRAM flap reconstructions (59 percent delayed and 18 percent immediate). Augmentation mammaplasty was the most common symmetry procedure for implant reconstruction (41 percent), whereas reduction was the most common procedure for autologous tissue reconstruction (57 percent). Immediate unilateral breast reconstructions were stratified into non-skin-sparing mastectomy (n = 205) and skin-sparing mastectomy (n = 500). Thirty-four percent of patients with a non-skin-sparing mastectomy defect (70 of 205) underwent a contralateral breast procedure, compared with 17 percent of patients with a skin-sparing mastectomy defect (85 of 500) (p = 0.001). The percentage of times a contralateral procedure was performed in immediate reconstruction, stratified by mastectomy and reconstruction type, was only significant for TRAM flap reconstructions (25 versus 11 percent). Trends in the management of unilateral breast cancer from delayed to immediate reconstruction and from implants to autologous tissue have reduced the incidence of contralateral symmetry procedures. Reduction mammaplasty is the most common symmetry procedure used for autologous tissue reconstruction, with augmentation predominating when implants are used. The type of mastectomy also effects the management of the opposite breast, with skin-sparing mastectomy further reducing the incidence of contralateral procedures in immediate TRAM flap reconstruction, compared with non-skin-sparing mastectomy.

[Breast implants: state of the controversy]

The controversy that occurred during the 1990 years concerning the breast implants has revealed several new problems, related to comfort surgery. Considering that this surgery has developed considerably, we found useful to outline the difficulties and the drifts that appeared with the breast implants. They were present at all levels: patients, implant factories, judges and lawyers, media, certified laboratories. An increased vigilance was found to be necessary in order to provide the safety and the quality of this type of surgery.

[Carboxymethylcellulose hydrogel-filled breast implants. Our experience in 15 years]

The author reports 15 years of laboratory and surgical experience with the use of breast implants pre-filled with carboxy-methyl-cellulose gel which he has used since 1984. Laboratory tests and results are presented. The author has undertaken a retrospective analysis of 380 clinical cases since 1984. He concludes that there is a future role for breast implants containing a non-toxic, visco-elastic and biodegradable filling gel in conjunction with the manufacture of increasingly reliable implant linings.

Breast implants: facts, controversy, and speculations for future research

The breast implant crisis has been widely publicized. Beyond its immediate problems for the patients, the crisis has also discredited the use of silicone rubber as one of the most widely used biomaterials. Silicone elastomer or gel, the primary material in mammary prostheses, may be exposed to the body's tissues via envelope rupture, gel bleed, or elastomer fragmentation. Local responses to silicone include granulomatous inflammation, capsular contraction, and infection, all in varying degrees depending on ill-defined factors, which may include patient condition, peri- and postoperative complications, and hereditary predisposition, as well as material properties such as surface texture. The theory that silicone breast implants cause immunological disorders has not been proven. However, further study is necessary because some patients report autoimmune-like disorders (human adjuvant disease) following implant placement. Like autoimmune disease, human adjuvant disease is characterized by abnormalities of the immune response, autoantibody formation, and chronic inflammation. Silicone has been shown to play the role of an adjuvant, providing constant nonspecific stimulation of the immune system. Some researchers have hypothesized the role of silicone in specific immune reactions, including immunoglobulin formation and T-cell activation. This report examines the role of silicone as an agent of disease, focusing on material surface-tissue interactions.

Do silicone breast implants cause autoimmune rheumatic diseases?

Current estimates are that up to a million women in the U.S. have breast implants with the predominant type being the silicone gel implant. Concerns have been raised regarding the safety of silicone gel breast implants with focus upon whether escaped gel might cause inflammatory and immune responses that subsequently lead to autoimmune rheumatic diseases such as progressive systemic sclerosis (scleroderma), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren's syndrome or rheumatoid arthritis. A spectrum of illnesses ranging from local symptoms to systemic disease is seen in some patients with silicone breast implants, however, it remains to be determined whether such illnesses in these patients are coincidentally associated or are secondary to the implants. Our understanding of the relationship between the presence of autoimmune rheumatic diseases and silicone breast implants is limited. The available data indicate that silicone elicits a minimal immunological response as compared to conventional antigens. The histological, immunological and epidemiological experimental data derived from patients with silicone implants, as well as those from animal studies, are reviewed. These data do not convincingly demonstrate that there is a cause and effect relationship between silicone breast implants and autoimmune diseases. Further investigations are needed to clarify the interaction of silicone with the cellular and humoral immune systems, as well as with host and environmental factors.