TY - JOUR A1 - Heine, Norbert A1 - Eigenberger, Andreas A1 - Brebant, Vanessa A1 - Kempa, Sally A1 - Seitz, Stephan A1 - Prantl, Lukas A1 - Kuehlmann, Britta T1 - The effect of radiotherapy on fat engraftment for complete breast reconstruction using lipofilling only T2 - Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics N2 - Purpose Lipofilling has been established as a standard technique for contour enhancement following breast reconstruction. However, there is a paucity in current literature regarding the use of this technique for complete reconstruction of the female breast as an alternative to conventional techniques, such as expander or flap-based procedures. In particular, the influence of pre-operative irradiation for successful reconstruction has rarely been examined in published studies. Here, the authors describe their experience with successful fat injection in pre-radiated breasts in comparison with non-pre-radiated patients. Methods In this retrospective study, we examined a total of 95 lipofilling treatments on 26 patients (28 breasts). All of them experienced mastectomy following breast cancer; local breast defects after partial resection of the gland were not included in this study. In total, 47 lipofilling procedures in 12 non-irradiated patients (14 breasts) and 48 procedures in 14 irradiated women (also 14 breasts) were performed. Per session, approximately 297 +/- 112 cc of adipose tissue was grafted in group A (no radiotherapy) and approximately 259 +/- 93 cc was grafted in group B (radiotherapy). Results Among the group of women without pre-operative radiation, 71% of breast reconstructions limited to lipofilling only showed constant engraftment of fat tissue with a successful reconstructive result, whereas only 21% of the patients with pre-radiated breasts showed complete reconstruction of the breast with a permanent fat in-growth. Conclusion Preoperative radiotherapy significantly impedes successful completion of breast reconstructions planned only by autologous fat transfer. Patients should be selected individually and carefully for complete breast reconstruction using lipofilling only. KW - Breast augmentation KW - Breast cancer KW - CANCER KW - Fat graft KW - Lipofilling KW - OUTCOMES KW - PLATELET-RICH PLASMA KW - RADIATION-THERAPY KW - Radiotherapy KW - RECIPIENT-SITE KW - Reconstruction Y1 - 2022 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-oth-regensburg/frontdoor/index/index/docId/5407 PB - Springer ER -