A Comparison of Postoperative Outcomes in Immediate Versus Delayed Reconstruction After Mastectomy

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of various postoperative complications in patients undergoing either immediate or delayed breast reconstruction after mastectomy for malignancy. Methods: The ACS-NSQIP 2005–2012 database was queried for patients who underwent mastectomy for the treatment of breast malignancy. These mastectomy cases were then stratified, generating “mastectomy alone” and “mastectomy with immediate reconstruction” cohorts. Database analysis also identified “delayed-reconstruction” oncologic patients. All patients undergoing reconstruction were then stratified into the tissue expander/implant or flap-based reconstruction group. The frequency of postoperative complications was assessed. A multiplicative risk model was used to calculate the probability of postoperative complications after undergoing a mastectomy alone, followed by reconstruction on a different date. These values were compared with the frequency of postoperative complications in the “mastectomy with immediate reconstruction” cohort, and 1-sample binomial tests were performed to determine statistical significance. Results: A total of 49,450 cases that underwent either mastectomy alone (n = 30,226), mastectomy with immediately tissue expander/implant reconstruction (n = 13,513), mastectomy with immediate flap reconstruction (n = 2854), delayed tissue expander/implant reconstruction (n = 2047), or delayed flap reconstruction (n = 810) were identified. When compared with a delayed reconstructive model, immediate reconstruction after mastectomy was associated with increased flap or tissue expander/implant failure. However, delayed reconstructive modalities were associated with increased postoperative medical and surgical complications. Finally, in flap-based reconstruction, the incidence of return to the operating room was higher in delayed reconstruction than in immediate reconstruction. Conclusions: Awareness of complications associated with each reconstructive modality will allow both surgeons and patients to effectively decide upon reconstructive options.