Nipple sparing mastectomy for a giant phyllodes tumor; a case report

Oncoplastic surgery has come into the limelight in the surgical treatment of breast cancer. In this report, we will introduce our challenge to apply oncoplastic surgery to a benign neoplasm like phyllodes tumor (PT).

A 45-year-old female visited our hospital complaining of a rapidly growing lump on her left breast. She already had experienced lumpectomy twice on the same breast. Her left breast was occupied by a 14 × 10 cm mass with another small 1.7 × 1.6 cm nodule considered as a daughter lesion. Core needle biopsy suggested that it was a benign PT. We conducted nipple sparing mastectomy (NSM) and immediate reconstruction of the breast by latissimus dorsi muscle flap. During 7-years follow up, she has no recurrence and is satisfied with the reconstructed breast.

There are some reports that performed conventional or radical mastectomy with immediate breast or chest wall reconstruction for giant PT. Reports about NSM with breast reconstruction for PT are rare, there are 5 including ours. All the cases accomplished long term recurrent free survival. All except ours were reconstructed by implants. Implant reconstruction is technically easier, but recently, malignant lymphoma after putting breast implant is concerned. Another merit of autologous tissue reconstruction is that they change naturally as age like contralateral breast so that it can achieve better long-term cosmetic result.

NSM with autologous tissue reconstruction is a good option for PT treatment even though it is not malignant.