FIRST EXPERIENCES WITH MR MAMMOGRAPHY IN AFTERCARE FOLLOWING PLASTIC-SURGERY OF CANCER OF THE BREAST

Purpose: To demonstrate typical MR mammographic findings after plastic surgery of breast cancer. Patients and methods: Postoperative (7-38 m onths, median 13) MR mammographic examinations of 25 patients operated for breast cancer (11 latissimus dorsiflaps (LAT), 14 rectus abdomini s myocutaneous-flaps (TRAM)) were reevaluated. The examinations were p erformed with a breast coil at 1 T The sequences applied were a fat-su ppressed 2-D turbo IR-sequence proton-weighted and a T-1-weighted FLAS H 3-D sequence as dynamic series. Results: Scars between the myocutane ous flap and the remaining breast tissue always appeared in form of a ligament or septum. Signal and perfusion characteristics of scar tissu e and muscle stalk in this investigation were clearly different from t hose of tumour. One tumour recurrence and one fat necrosis was found a nd rectified by biopsy. Conclusion: MR mammography is a very valuable diagnostic method for postoperative evaluation of myocutaneous flap-ba sed therapy of breast cancer.