Immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy at Örebro University Hospital

Abstract Introduction Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) can be offered to breast cancer patients after mastectomy. A satisfactory breast symmetry has positive effects on psychosocial morbidity, quality of life and body image. The frequency of IBR were in 2017 in Region Örebro County 4%, lower than the national target on 20%. Aim The aim is to provide an overview of the work with IBR at Örebro University Hospital in 2016, regarding frequency of IBR, work with IBR at multidisciplinary team conferences, documentation of the patient’s opinion about IBR, delayed reconstructions, patient characteristics and presence of contraindications. Material and methods This was a retrospective study of all women who underwent mastectomy at Örebro University Hospital in 2016. Results Five of the 103 women got IBR with expander implants in connection to mastectomy, additionally 28 had no contraindications for IBR. Five of the women have discussed about IBR at multidisciplinary team conferences and seven had notes about their attitude to IBR. Ten women underwent delayed reconstruction during the follow-up, additional seven patients were waiting for surgery. There were no significant differences in patient characteristics between the groups “mastectomy and IBR” and “mastectomy only”. Conclusions The low frequencies of performed IBR, discussions at multidisciplinary team conferences and documentation of the patient’s opinion about IBR indicate that there is space for a more active work about IBR. Besides the women who got IBR, there were additionally 28 women without any contraindications for IBR, indicating that there is a considerable group that can become candidates for IBR