Hot topics in breast augmentation, reconstruction this week

Researchers were able to precisely measure the loss of volume and projection following nipple reconstruction by using 3-D laser scans, as reported on Healio.com/Aesthetics.

Additional news included the risks of using household warming devices following breast reconstruction and the successful results of the Aeroform breast tissue expander:

Significant loss of volume observed following nipple reconstruction

3-D laser scans of reconstructed nipples demonstrated that there was a significant loss of volume over time, even more so than the loss of projection, according to study results published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

Twenty-two patients were enrolled in the study between January 2004 and September 2006. Ten patients with a median age of 43 years (range, 30-59) underwent expander reconstruction. Twelve patients with a median age of 44 years (range, 29-64) underwent flap reconstruction. All nipple reconstructions were performed with a skate flap (10 mm x 40 mm). Read more

Breast reconstruction patients at risk for burn injuries from heated devices

Reconstructed breasts are at risk for injury from commonly used household warming devices due to decreased or absent sensation following surgery and patients should be counseled about such risks, according to study results published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open.

The researchers reviewed patients from their practice from the last year that had received burn injuries to their reconstructed breasts, and also searched for articles on PubMed for reports of burn injuries in reconstructed breasts. Read more

Aeroform tissue expander for breast reconstruction provides convenient, expedient results

The Aeroform tissue expander had similar overall adverse event rates compared with saline expanders, but was more convenient and reached complete expansion sooner, according to study results published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

The prospective study included 150 women undergoing tissue expansion following mastectomy between October 2011 and December 2014. Ninety-eight patients received the Aeroform expander and 52 received saline expanders, with 71% of the patients undergoing bilateral reconstruction. Read more

Polyurethane breast implants have low incidence of capsular contracture in mastectomy patients

Polyurethane foam-coated breast implants had a lower than average incidence of capsular contracture following two-stage breast reconstruction compared with smooth and textured implants, according to study results published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

For the retrospective study, researchers reviewed the records of 92 patients who underwent two-stage breast reconstruction with 115 polyurethane shaped implants between June 2002 and February 2015 at the San Pertini Hospital, Rome, Italy. Read more

High BMI, smoking increase risk for seroma following breast augmentation

Factors such as high BMI, submammary pocket and smoking were significantly associated with seroma development in patients undergoing breast augmentation, according to study results published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal.

The researchers conducted a retrospective study of 539 patients undergoing primary breast augmentation with silicone cohesive gel implants between January 2006 and February 2007. Mean age of the patients was 36.6 years (range, 18-63 years). Read more