The Superiorly Based Partial Rectus Abdominis and External Oblique Flap: A New Technique for Breast Asymmetry Reconstruction

Breast asymmetry has a wide spectrum of presentations with several employable strategies for surgical correction. Historically, the external oblique muscle has proven to be a versatile flap option for the reconstruction of both local and distant defects. It has also been described for use in breast reconstruction for coverage of the lower pole of implant prostheses. The external oblique muscle flap can be harvested in several ways to capture overlying fat and skin. In this study, we describe the use of a superiorly based partial rectus and external oblique flap for surgical correction of lower pole breast hypoplasia. This flap provides vascularized autologous volume to the lower pole of the breast with minimal donor morbidity. Other advantages of this flap are that it can increase the nipple to inframammary fold distance and lower the inframammary fold. This technique represents an evolution of an under-utilized flap and is the first study describing the use of the external oblique flap in the management of breast asymmetry.