Radiation therapy and breast reconstruction

Mastectomy will continue to play a substantial role in the treatment of breast cancer, because many women either are not candidates for or do not desire to have breast conservation. Many patients treated with mastectomy will desire reconstruction, and many of these will be advised to receive adjuvant radiotherapy, which has been shown to increase overall survival in certain high risk patients. There continues to be considerable controversy regarding the compatibility of radiation therapy and breast reconstruction due to increased complications and decreased cosmetic outcome. These can be minimized by careful modern surgical and radiation techniques, and in most cases the result is acceptable, including for reconstructions with prosthetic implants as well as autogenous myocutaneous flaps.