Safety of Partial Breast Reconstruction in Extended Indications for Conservative Surgery in Breast Cancer

Breast conservation surgery after large volume excisions for women with relatively larger or multicentric operable breast cancer (OBC) and in some locally advanced breast cancers (LABC) post neo-adjuvant chemotherapy (NACT), is known to be a feasible option using a latissimus dorsi flap. However, the oncological safety of such a procedure is not well reported in literature. Two hundred and twenty one women with breast cancer (148-OBC, 73-LABC) underwent BCT plus LD during March 1998 to August 2009. One hundred and forty six women (72-LABC, 66-OBC) received prior NACT for downstaging, followed by completion of adjuvant therapy in all, including postoperative radiotherapy and hormone therapy where indicated. Women aged 20–62 years, with tumors 1.5–15 cm (median 5.0 cm), underwent volume replacement surgery with LD flap. All positive cut margins (total-4.9%, gross positive-1.3%) were re-excised to ensure negative margins. The mean surgical time for excision of primary with axillary clearance followed by volume replacement by LD was 5 h and mean hospital stay 6 days. Donor site morbidity was seen in 11 patients and 3 had minor recipient site infection. At a median follow up of 36 months, ten of 221 patients (4.5%) had failed locally (7-OBC, 3-LABC). The determinants of local recurrence were presence of lymphatic vascular invasion (p = 0.016) and axillary metastasis (p = 0.003). BCT plus LD flap is an oncologically safe, technically quick procedure with minimal morbidity, and should be offered to all eligible women as an extended breast conservation procedure.