Impact of Smoking Status in Free Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Multicenter Study.

Background:  Several patient-related factors have been identified with regard to the safety and efficacy of breast reconstructions. Using the largest database available in Europe, the presented study investigated the impact of cigarette smoking on deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) free-flap breast reconstructions.

Methods:  In total, 3,926 female patients underwent 4,577 free DIEP-flap breast reconstructions after malignancies in 22 different German breast cancer centers.

[Quality assurance in breast reconstruction - Establishment of a prospective national online registry for microsurgical breast reconstructions].

Background:  The loss of a breast, and thus of the female body shape, is often extremely traumatising for women affected. Although free flap grafts have become the gold standard in reconstructive breast surgery, it has not been possible to date to unequivocally document their superiority over conventional alternative techniques. To date, there are no data on the care situation in Germany.

Breast Implant-Associated Lymphoma.

Background: There has been increasing evidence in recent years that breast implants can, in rare cases, be associated with the development of an anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL).

Methods: This review is based on relevant publications retrieved by a selective search in PubMed for articles that appeared from the time of the initial description of breast-implant-associated ALCL onward (1997 to January 2018), and by a further search in German nationwide databases.

Results: 516 pathologically confirmed cases of breast-implant-associated (BIA) ALCL were documented around the world until February 2018; seven of these arose in Germany and were reported to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, BfArM).