Breast reconstruction with myocutaneous flaps in previously irradiated patients

Breast reconstructions performed with latissimus dorsi and transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) flaps in 82 patients with a history of previous chest-wall irradiation were compared with similar reconstructions in 202 nonirradiated patients to determine whether prior irradiation was associated with more frequent complications and to determine the success rate of breast reconstruction using distant flaps in irradiated patients. The mean dose of radiation administered was 5637 cGy. Complications in the reconstructed breast were more frequent in the irradiated patients (39 percent) than in the nonirradiated patients (25 percent; p = 0.03). In the irradiated group, breast complications were more common in reconstructions performed with the latissimus dorsi flap (63 percent) than in those performed with the TRAM flap (33 percent; p = 0.063). Aesthetic outcomes also were slightly poorer in the irradiated patients. Although complications were more common and aesthetic outcomes not as good in previously irradiated patients, we do not consider such irradiation to be a contraindication to breast reconstruction.