Therapeutic mammaplasty - impact on the delivery of chemotherapy

Therapeutic mammaplasty allows breast conservation and maintains breast cosmesis in women with larger and ptotic breasts. They are associated with more post-operative complications, potentially delaying adjuvant treatment. Our aim is to investigate the impact of therapeutic mammaplasty on the timing of adjuvant chemotherapy, compared with conventional breast conservation surgery.

Retrospective data collection of breast cancer patients undergoing breast-conserving surgery at a single institution from 2009 to 2013.

1000 patients underwent breast-conserving surgery, 40 underwent therapeutic mammaplasty. Patients with a complication of mammaplasty had no delay to starting chemotherapy compared to those without complication (median 36 vs. 40 days). There was no delay to chemotherapy for patients requiring further breast cancer excision surgery following therapeutic mammaplasty compared with standard breast conservation surgery (36 vs. 39 days).

There is no delay in commencing adjuvant chemotherapy following therapeutic mammaplasty surgery, even if there is a complication of surgery. However, patients with involved margins had a significant delay to chemotherapy whilst awaiting re-excision surgery.