Postmastectomy breast reconstruction in Connecticut: Trends and predictors

Using the population-based Connecticut Tumor Registry, postmastectomy breas t reconstruction was examined in the 10,756 breast cancers in Connecticut w omen (including 10,133 in white women and 554 in black women) diagnosed fro m 1988 to 1995. Reconstruction increased from 6.4 percent of cancers in 198 8 to 9.1 percent in 1991, but it declined to 4.7 percent of cancers in 1992 (when the Food and Drug Administration instituted a restriction on the use of silicone gel implants); by 1995, the rate had recovered to 8.5 percent. Reconstruction was negatively associated with age, poverty rate of the cen sus tract of residence, and black (versus white) race; these associations r equire further study.