Download PDF
Open Access
CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2018; 45(02): 146-151
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2017.01382
Original Article

Safety of long-term subcutaneous free flap skin banking after skin-sparing mastectomy

Authors

  • Ralph Verstappen

    Department of Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital, St. Gallen, Switzerland

  • Gabriel Djedovic

    Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria

  • Evi Maria Morandi

    Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria

  • Dietmar Heiser

    Department of Dermatology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria

  • Ulrich Michael Rieger

    Department of Plastic and Aesthetic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Agaplesion Markus Hospital, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany

  • Thomas Bauer

    Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria
Further Information
  Permissions and Reprints

Background A persistent problem in autologous breast reconstruction in skin-sparing mastectomies is skin restoration after skin necrosis or secondary oncological resection. As a solution to facilitate reconstruction, skin banking of free-flap skin has been proposed in cases where the overlying skin envelope must be resected, as this technique spares the patient an additional donor site. Herein, we present the largest series to date in which this method was used. We investigated its safety and the possibility of skin banking for prolonged periods of time.

Methods All skin-sparing mastectomies and immediate autologous breast reconstructions from December 2009 until June 2013 at our institution were analysed.

Results We identified 31 patients who underwent 33 free flap reconstructions in which skin banking was performed. Our median skin banking period was 7 days, with a maximum duration of 171 days. In 22.5% of cases, the banked skin was used to reconstruct overlying skin defects, and in 9.6% of cases to reconstruct the nipple-areolar complex. Microbiological and histological investigations of the banked skin revealed neither clinical infections nor malignancies.

Conclusions In situ skin banking, even for prolonged periods of time, is a safe and cost-effective method to ensure that skin defects due to necrosis or secondary oncological resection can be easily reconstructed.

Keywords

Reconstructive surgical procedures - Mammaplasty - Free tissue flaps - Breast neoplasms - Transplantation, autologous


Publication History

Received: 07 August 2017

Accepted: 09 January 2018

Article published online:
22 May 2022

© 2018. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA