Reversed abdominoplasty as a reconstructive option on a patient with a basal cell carcinoma of the intermammary region

The reversed abdominoplasty is an aesthetic procedure not very commonly used nowadays. It is used more often on patients with skin excess and lipodystrophy of the upper abdominal wall. Regardless of its low rate of complications, it implies perceptible inframammary scars that stretch along the midline. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer. It is located mostly in areas of high sunlight exposure such as the face or ears. However, it can appear in uncommon locations like the intermammary area. The authors report the case of a 65-year-old female with a 3-cm nodular basal cell carcinoma of the inferior intermammary region. As the patient had supraumbilical lipodystrophy, we used a variation of reversed abdominoplasty to reconstruct the defect after tumour resection. One year after surgery, there were no complications or cancer recurrence. The scars were aesthetically good and body contour was improved. This clinical case shows the intimate relation between aesthetical and reconstructive surgery. The application of aesthetic surgery techniques in the field of skin oncology (‘oncoplastic’ techniques) can give significant improvement in the final result with minimal morbidity and without compromising treatment safety.

Level of evidence: Level V, therapeutic study.