Latissimus dorsi reconstruction: a good option for patients with failed breast conservation therapy.

The majority of patients with breast carcinoma are being treated with breast conservation therapy (BCT): lumpectomy and postoperative radiation. Local recurrence reported at 8% to 11% is often treated with salvage mastectomy. This has led to a growing group of patients requiring breast reconstruction after failed BCT.

Latissimus dorsi flap remains an excellent choice for breast reconstruction.

Latissimus dorsi flap has been unfairly relegated to a second option in breast reconstruction. One hundred consecutive latissimus dorsi muscle flaps (LDMF) with tissue-expander reconstruction were studied, mean follow-up 34.5 months (range, 1-175), 50 immediate, 50 delayed.