Locoregional recurrence after mastectomy with immediate transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flap reconstruction.

Background: The locoregional recurrence (LRR) rate after mastectomy is reported to be similar with immediate reconstruction. We aimed to identify characteristics of LRR after transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) reconstruction.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing immediate TRAM reconstruction for breast cancer who were diagnosed with LRR.

Results: We identified 18 LRR (4.6 %) in 18 of 390 patients who underwent immediate TRAM reconstructions for breast cancer from 1998 to 2008. The median follow-up was 69.2 months. The mean age at time of mastectomy was 49.5 years. All LRR were detected by physical examination. The LRR occurred in the TRAM subcutaneous tissue (n = 9), five in the ipsilateral axillary lymph node and four in the supraclavicular lymph node. Of the 18 patients who developed LRR, 14 (77.7 %) presented with stage 0-1-2 and 4 (22.2 %) with stage 3 disease at the time of the original mastectomy. The average time for a LRR to present was 35.8 months after initial mastectomy and reconstruction. For patients who initially presented with stage 3 disease, the average time to LRR was shorter (22.9 months). Nine patients (50.0 %) were found to have metastatic disease at the time of the LRR, and 6 (33.3 %) died of disease.

Conclusions: All TRAM LRR were detected by routine physical examination by the patient or the surgeon. Our findings suggest that routine history and clinical breast examination of the breast reconstructed with a TRAM flap along with patient self-awareness are reliable in the diagnosis of LRR.