Delayed Versus Immediate Breast Reconstruction in the Ambulatory Surgery Setting: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample.

Background: Breast reconstruction remains an important part of a patient's journey after the diagnosis of breast carcinoma and treatment with mastectomy. Although inpatient immediate breast reconstruction has been described, there is a paucity information about whether similar procedures are performed in the ambulatory setting.

Objective: The authors sought to investigate rates and patterns for delayed and immediate breast reconstruction in the ambulatory surgery setting using nationally representative data from 2016 to 2019.

Methods: Using the Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample database, we identified patients with an International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, procedure code for breast reconstruction. Demographic and clinical characteristics were recorded for each encounter of breast reconstruction, and linear regression and logistic regression were used to assess for trends and disparities.

Results: National weighted estimates for ambulatory breast reconstruction increased by 15.6% from 89 237 in 2016 to 103 134 in 2019, resulting in 377 109 procedures during the study period. Inflation-adjusted total charges for ambulatory breast reconstruction were $14 billion between 2016 and 2019, or 1.7% of overall charges for ambulatory surgery. Immediate reconstruction was performed in 34.7% (95% CI, 33.4%-36.1%) of cases and increased by 46.9% from 26 930 in 2016 to 39 559 in 2019. Racial disparities were observed in access, comorbidities, and spending.

Conclusions: Our findings indicate a moderate increase in ambulatory breast reconstruction with a substantial growth in the performance of immediate breast reconstruction in the ambulatory setting.