Breast reconstruction after mastectomy at an urban community-based program

Reconstruction after mastectomy is an elective procedure. To date many factors have been associated with the choice of operation in these patients including socioeconomic status, insurance, age, comorbidities, and community factors. In an effort to understand the characteristics of patients who undergo reconstruction at our hospital, we performed a retrospective review of patients who received mastectomy at our institution. A total of 354 patients underwent mastectomy from 2006 to 2010 at our hospital. Data from 332 patients undergoing reconstruction within 1 year of mastectomy were then analyzed and χ(2) analysis was performed to identify factors significant in the choice of reconstruction. Age younger than 50 years (odds ratio [OR], 3.87), age older than 70 years (OR, 0.09), presence of insurance (OR, 2.89), diabetes (OR, 0.401), hypertension (OR, 0.379), and Medicare (0.182) were found to be significant factors associated with a choice of reconstruction among our patients. When age was corrected for, insurance status was no longer a significant factor in choice of reconstruction. Over 90 per cent of patients underwent implant or tissue expanders for reconstruction. This study reflects the reconstruction choices of patients in our community, city-based hospital.