New risk-scoring tool allows surgeons to better counsel and potentially change an operative plan for women at higher risk for implant failure after mastectomy, Journal of the American College of Surgeonsstudy reports.
New research findings published in the December issue of theJournal of the American College of Surgeons confirm that factors such as smoking and obesity increase the odds of early implant loss in women who undergo mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction with implants. Additionally, the study authors propose a unique risk-scoring tool that allows surgeons to better counsel patients preoperatively about their predicted risk for complications.
“The goal of our study was really to determine which patients are at greatest risk for experiencing significant complications with their implants in the first 30 days after breast reconstruction, with the hope that it will allow practicing surgeons, including reconstructive surgeons, an opportunity to better tailor preoperative risk counseling and improve patient selection,” said lead study author John P. Fischer, MD, a plastic surgery resident at the Perelman School of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
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