A comparison of presentations and outcomes of salvage versus non-salvage abdominal free flap breast reconstructions-Results of a 15-year tertiary referral centre review.

Introduction: Salvage breast reconstruction with autologous tissue is becoming more prevalent due to a resurgence in implant-based procedures. The latter has caused a commensurate rise in failed or treatment-resistant prosthetic cases requiring conversion to free tissue transfers. Salvage reconstruction is often considered more challenging, owing to patient presentation, prior treatments and intraoperative difficulties.

Microvascular breast reconstruction and thromboembolic events in patients on hormone therapy: Audit of practice from a tertiary referral centre.

Introduction: Hormonal therapy with tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors reduces breast cancer recurrence and mortality but represents a risk factor for thromboembolic events. Therefore, most surgeons discontinue hormonal agents before microvascular surgery and for a variable period thereafter. There are no guidelines regarding when therapy should be stopped (preoperatively) or when it should be resumed (post-operatively).

The effect of CT angiography and venous couplers on surgery duration in microvascular breast reconstruction: a single operator's experience.

Background: The use of CT angiography (CTA) or venous couplers (VCs) has led to shorter operative times in free flap breast reconstruction (FFBR). However, there are no reports on the effect of these two interventions relative to each other or combined.

Methods: Abdominal based FFBRs performed by a single surgeon before introduction of either intervention were compared to those with VC only, and those after the addition of CTA to VCs (CT-VC).

Trends in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction types at a breast cancer tertiary referral centre before and after introduction of acellular dermal matrices.

Background: Reconstructive breast surgery has continued to evolve over the last decade with a key change being the adoption of acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) as an adjunct for implant-based procedures. This retrospective observational study assesses the effect of ADMs on post-mastectomy reconstructive practice performed in a single institution.

Methods: We conducted a review of all patients undergoing breast reconstruction at a University Teaching Hospital for an 18-month period before and after adopting ADMs.