Exploring the Effect of Post-mastectomy complications on 5-year survival.

Background: Ramifications of postoperative complications on long-term survival after mastectomy are uncertain.

Methods: Overall complications (Clavien-Dindo Grades I-IIIB) and wound complications were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method for impact on 5-year overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).

Results: A total of 378 patients underwent mastectomy alone (157, 41%) or mastectomy with reconstruction (221, 59%) for Stage I-III disease with a median follow-up of 5 years.