CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2019; 46(02): 135-139
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2017.01690
Original Article

Volumetric change of the latissimus dorsi muscle after immediate breast reconstruction with an extended latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Radiology, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
,
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Yangsan, Korea
› Author Affiliations

Background In immediate breast reconstruction using an extended latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous (eLDMC) flap, the volume of the flap decreases, which causes a secondary deformity of the breast shape. Since little research has investigated this decrease in muscle volume, the authors conducted an objective study to characterize the decrease in muscle volume after breast reconstruction using an eLDMC flap.

Methods Research was conducted from October 2011 to November 2016. The subjects included 23 patients who underwent mastectomy due to breast cancer, received immediate reconstruction using an eLDMC flap without any adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and received a computed tomography (CT) scan from days 7 to 10 after surgery and 6 to 8 months postoperatively. In 10 patients, an additional CT scan was conducted 18 months postoperatively. Axial CT scans were utilized to measure the volumetric change of the latissimus dorsi muscle during the follow-up period.

Results In the 23 patients, an average decrease of 54.5% was observed in the latissimus dorsi muscle volume between the images obtained immediately postoperatively and the scans obtained 6 to 8 months after surgery. Ten patients showed an average additional decrease of 11.9% from 6–8 months to 18 months after surgery.

Conclusions We studied changes in the volume of the latissimus dorsi muscle after surgery using an eLDMC flap performed after a mastectomy without adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In this study, we found that immediate breast reconstruction using a latissimus dorsi muscle flap led to a decrease in muscle volume of up to 50%.

This work was supported by a 2015 clinical research grant from Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital.




Publication History

Received: 15 November 2017

Accepted: 22 October 2018

Article published online:
03 April 2022

© 2019. 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/)

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