Background: Breast reconstruction usually takes multiple operations and several clinic visits to complete. It often takes several years before a patient is finally discharged from the clinic. The purpose of this study was to report on the period of reconstruction from start to finish and the number of clinic appointments and the number of operations for different types of reconstruction.
Methods: A retrospective review of breast reconstruction following surgery for breast cancer over 13 years in Counties Manukau DHB was performed. The outcome measures were number of clinic appointments, number of operations including balancing procedures and revisions and the total duration of reconstruction.
Results: The study sample consisted of 1042 patients with a mean age of 48 years. The average number of operations was 3.31. 534 patients underwent balancing procedures and 447 patients underwent revision operations, including scar revision, fat grafting and liposuction. The mean number of clinic visits ranged from 6 to 18 for DIEPs, TRAM, LD and implant reconstructions. The total duration reconstruction took several years in some cases.
Discussion: Patients are usually counselled regarding the number of operations they would require. They may not be aware of number of clinic visits that they would have to undertake and the duration of completion of reconstruction. This audit gives some idea on what patient could be informed of regarding the duration of different types of reconstructions and number of clinic visits.
Conclusion: Breast reconstruction following breast cancer surgery is often more than just one stage and two stage reconstruction. We found that balancing procedures such as reduction, mastopexy, fat grafting, liposuction and revision procedures such as change of implants lead to increased number of surgical procedures and clinic appointments.