Value of immediate dermal fat graft in breast reconstruction during conservative surgery for breast cancer

Background
Being the symbol of femininity and motherhood, the breast is very precious to every female and its absence due to mastectomy due to cancer has a very negative impact on physical and psychological life for females. Breast-conserving and breast-reconstructive surgeries are the solution for these problems, while free autologous fat grafting is one of these options, and this study is designed to evaluate its efficiency.
Patients and methods
During the period from June 2016 to November 2020, a prospective study was performed over 45 patients who have undergone immediate dermal fat grafting aiming for breast reconstruction during conservative surgery for breast cancer. The follow-up period ranged from 4 to 40 months.
Results
The excised specimen volume size (tumor + safety margin) was 120 cm ranging from 95 to 145 cm and its weight was 55 g, ranging from 35 to 110 g. Although the graft volume was 140 cm with a range of 120–170 cm and its weight was 65 g ranging from 45 to 130 g. Last, the maximum surgical margin was 33 mm with a range of 27–42 mm. The results showed that for objective cosmetic satisfaction, the authors got excellent results in 15.55% of patients, while 62.23% were good, and 22.22% got a fair result with no poor ones. The subjective patient satisfaction was excellent in 48.88% of patients, 40% were good, and 11.12% got a fair result with no poor ones. The total actual number of patients who faced complications was 17.8%, which were all resolved and managed quickly with conservative methods.
Conclusions
Immediate dermal fat grafting in breast reconstruction during conservative surgery for breast cancer is a reliable, simple, safe, efficient, and rapid method for breast reconstruction with a very big advantage from being an autologous tissue with a relatively low rate of complications.