[A case of T4bN3c breast cancer treated with modified radical mastectomy with immediate reconstruction using a tissue...

A 40 year-old woman had right T4bN3c breast cancer without distant metastasis. A partial response was achieved in the primary lesion and right supraclavicular and axillary lymph node involvement was no longer noted after systemic chemotherapy (weekly paclitaxel followed by 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide [FEC]). The patient wished to undergo immediate reconstruction of the right breast, and therefore, modified radical mastectomy with tissue expander reconstruction was performed. Adverse effects due to chemotherapy were of Grade 2. Six months after post-mastectomy radiation therapy, the tissue expander was removed and the right breast was reconstructed using an implant. No complications were noted. Six years have passed since the operation, and no local recurrence or distant metastasis has been noted. In addition, the cosmetic appearance of the right breast is satisfactory.