Type of breast reconstructive surgery among breast cancer patients: a population-based study

The type of breast reconstructive surgery (implant versus flap) was examined among all Connecticut-resident breast cancer patients diagnosed between 1994 and 1997 and identified from a population-based cancer registry. Type of reconstruction was obtained primarily from questionnaires sent to hospitals, but physicians were contacted about selected patients. Among 526 patients who underwent reconstruction, reconstruction with a flap (with or without an implant; 367 patients, or 69.8 percent) was more frequent than reconstruction with an implant alone (111 patients, or 21.1 percent); the type of reconstruction was unknown for 48 patients (9.1 percent). Some disagreement was found between reports from physicians and hospitals in a subsample of patients diagnosed in 1997. This study describes the baseline data and methods for examining trends in type of reconstruction among breast cancer patients in a defined population.