Trends in post-mastectomy breast reconstruction types at a breast cancer tertiary referral centre before and after introduction of acellular dermal matrices

Background: Reconstructive breast surgery has continued to evolve over the last decade with a key change being the adoption of acellular dermal matrices (ADMs) as an adjunct for implant-based procedures. This retrospective observational study assesses the effect of ADMs on post-mastectomy reconstructive practice performed in a single institution. Methods: We conducted a review of all patients undergoing breast reconstruction at a University Teaching Hospital for an 18-month period before and after adopting ADMs. Demographic, procedural and complication data for these two cohorts were compared (χ2 and Student's t-tests). Results: A total of 264 women (336 breasts), mean age 47.5 years, were identified: 137 before and 127 after the introduction of ADM. Implant-only reconstructions increased from 16% to 52% following the adoption of ADM (p < 0.01), whereas the proportion of both latissimus dorsi and deep inferior epigastric perforator flap reconstructions decreased significantly (31%–11% and 49%–34%, respectively, p < 0.01). The rate of early complications for the implant-only procedures was not significantly different with or without ADM (26% versus 20%, respectively, p = 0.44), despite there being no difference in the rate of adjuvant radiotherapy (22% versus 35%, respectively, p = 0.30). Conclusions: This study showed that since ADM introduction to our centre, more breast reconstructions have been of the implant-only type with consequent reductions in the more complex and expensive autologous techniques. Implant-only procedures that incorporated ADM use had similar complication rates to those that did not.