Factors Leading to Decreased Rates of Immediate Postmastectomy Reconstruction

This study was performed to determine if there was a difference in immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) rates between our public hospital and private cancer center, which share a common faculty with a consistent management philosophy in multidisciplinary care. We investigated the factors affecting postmastectomy reconstruction and IBR rates.

We retrospectively identified women with clinical stage I-II breast cancer who underwent mastectomy at our public hospital, Los Angeles County Medical Center, and our private cancer center, Keck Hospital of USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to study predictors of IBR and any breast reconstruction.

Of 293 mastectomy patients, the rate of any breast reconstruction at the private cancer (56.6%) center was higher than that at the public hospital (36.2%). IBR rates for the private cancer center (93.6%) and for patients with private insurance were higher than for the public hospital (40.8%) and likewise for those without insurance (86.7% versus 45.5%). In a multivariate analysis, the odds of IBR at our private cancer center were 22.96 times higher than that at our public hospital. Age >50 y and radiotherapy were independent predictive factors associated with less likelihood of any breast reconstruction.

Patients at the public hospital had a much lower rate of breast reconstruction than the private cancer center patients, even after controlling for stage and the team of treating physicians. Our results showed that older age and radiotherapy affect rates of breast reconstruction, as do hospital system and insurance status.