WOUND COMPLICATIONS IN PATIENTS RECEIVING ADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY AFTERMASTECTOMY AND IMMEDIATE BREAST RECONSTRUCTION FOR BREAST-CANCER

A retrospective study was done to evaluate the frequency and severity of wound complications in 112 patients with breast cancer who received adjuvant chemotherapy following mastectomy with immediate breast reco nstruction. Data on wound complications were available for 120 mastect omies. The rate of complications in 36 mastectomies treated with chemo therapy after mastectomy and immediate reconstruction was compared to that in 84 mastectomies not receiving adjuvant therapy. There were 25 wound complications (20.8%) in the entire group. The rate of wound com plications was 27.8% (10 of 36 mastectomies) in the group treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and 17.9% (15 of 84 mastectomies) in the group that did not receive adjuvant therapy (P = 0.13). No patient had a del ay in the initiation of adjuvant therapy because of wound complication s secondary to immediate reconstruction. Logistic regression analysis found no correlation between age, type of operation, tumor pathology, stage, number of lymph nodes harvested, type of prosthesis or chemothe rapy, and wound complications in patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy. The frequency of wound complications was not increased in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy after ma stectomy and immediate breast reconstruction. The administration of ad juvant chemotherapy does not need to be delayed in patients who have h ad immediate breast reconstruction following mastectomy for breast can cer. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.