Chest wall deformity following maximal tissue expansion for breast reconstruction

Forty-three women, in a series of 150, participated in a prospective study that examined their chest walls for deformities 3 months after maximal tissue expansion for single-breast reconstruction. Computed tomography imaging was used for this purpose. Twenty-one patients underwent immediate breast reconstruction and the other 22 patients underwent delayed reconstruction. Fifty-three percent had some chest wall abnormality. In the delayed group, chest wall deformities were more statistically significant (p < 0.001). Our findings suggest that chest wall deformity is a common occurrence after maximal tissue expansion for breast reconstruction.