Primary reconstruction of the breast by free myocutaneous gluteal flap

Most of the patients diagnosed as having cancer of the breast in an early stage survive for a longer period and deserve to be socially rehabilitated by reconstruction. The main obstacle for primary reconstruction is delay in discovery of local recurrence. Standard, radical mastectomy with primary reconstruction by a distant thick flap or free myocutaneous gluteal flap is justified, because modified radical mastectomy has been an accepted method and permits primarily the local thick flap cover or the pectoral major muscle. We have done primary reconstruction in two cases (secondary in one case) with success, utilizing the microvascular surgical technique. This autogenous tissue transfer is the most physiological method and we believe that it is the procedure of choice. Postoperative follow-up studies by muscle biopsy, xerography and thermography have shown the satisfactory results without local recurrence.