Detecting nonpalpable recurrent breast cancer: the role of routine mammographic screening of transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap reconstructions.

Purpose: To perform a retrospective cohort study to determine the rates of recall and cancer detection and then to develop a decision analytic model to evaluate the effectiveness of routine screening of transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap reconstructions.

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the institutional review board, and the methods comply with HIPAA regulations. A retrospective search of the institutional mammographic results database was done to identify bilateral screening mammographic examinations obtained from January 1, 1999, through July 15, 2005.