Reverse Abdominoplasty, a Viable Option for Breast Reconstruction

Introduction

The reverse abdominoplasty was first described in the 1970’s, and since then, it has been described for reconstruction of thoracic wall defects, upper abdominal wall contouring, and augmentation mammaplasty. It has received little attention in the literature, it can however be a useful method of breast reconstruction in a select group of patients, like obese patients. We present a series of 3 patients who underwent post-mastectomy breast reconstruction with the reverse abdominoplasty flap after being found unsuitable for other methods of breast reconstruction.

Methods

Three patients underwent breast reconstruction with reverse abdominoplasty, and complication and Breast-Q data were obtained prospectively.

Patient 1 is a 55 year old lady with a body mass index (BMI) of 48.30, who underwent 2 stage bilateral breast reconstruction with reverse abdominoplasty and insertion of tissue expanders.

Patient 2 is a 49 year old lady with a BMI of 38.40, who underwent 2 stage bilateral breast reconstruction with reverse abdominoplasty and insertion of tissue expanders.

Patient 3 is a 36 year old lady with a BMI of 28.00, who underwent reverse abdominoplasty to correct a unilateral partial mastectomy defect.

Results

Patients 1 and 3 did not experience any post-operative complications, and Patient 2 experienced minor wound healing problems. All three patients were satisfied with their outcomes, everyone having significant improvements in the Breast-Q scores across various domains.

Although not for everyone, we present a safe and satisfactory option for breast reconstruction, when other usual methods of breast reconstruction are not available, especially in the obese patient group.