Relationship between rib cartilage resection and postoperative chest recession deformity in breast reconstruction

The most versatile recipient vessels for breast reconstruction are the internal mammary artery and vein. For microvascular anastomosis, one or two costal cartilages are often dissected to increase the length of the vessel and the degree of freedom. In some cases, the resection of the rib cartilage causes long-term depression at the dissected site, compromising its cosmetic appearance.

A total of 101 patients were examined, with 111 sides in which the internal mammary artery and vein were used as the recipient vessels. The patients were followed up for at least 6 months.

A total of 37 of 38 patients with complete rib cartilage preservation had no depression, and 1 patient had a slight depression. In the case of partial resection of the rib cartilage, 37 of the 46 sides had no depression, 8 sides had mild depression, and 1 side had an obvious depression. When more than one rib cartilage was removed, 11 of the 27 sides had no depression, 11 had mild depression, and 5 had an obvious depression. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was 0.4911936.

This study reported the relationship between rib cartilage resection and postoperative concave deformity in breast reconstruction surgery using free flap transfer and the internal mammary artery and vein as the recipient vessels. A strong correlation was found between the extent of rib cartilage resected and the degree of depression. Minimizing rib cartilage resection when using the internal mammary artery and veins may minimize postoperative chest recession deformity and provide a well-dressed breast reconstruction.