Tunnelled lateral fasciocutaneous thoracodorsal flap with a skin island in breast reconstruction in oncoplastic breast surgery.

The technique and results of a tunnelled lateral fasciocutaneous flap with a skin island is described in immediate partial breast reconstruction in a subpopulation in oncoplastic breast surgery. Fifteen patients were operated on from January 2008 to January 2011. The subpopulation consisted of patients with small or medium-sized breasts. All patients had invasive ductal carcinomas, located in the lateral or central parts of the breast, of which the lumpectomy in three cases included the nipple areola complex. Eleven patients had axillary lymph node dissection because of positive sentinel node biopsy. In four patients a re-resection was performed due to insufficient primary resection margins. No primary or secondary mastectomies were performed. One haematoma at the site of reconstruction was registered as the only postoperative complication. No patient developed wound infection, delayed wound healing, seroma, or any flap complications. All patients had adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy according to the guidelines of The Danish Breast Cancer Group. The patients were seen at follow-up visits at 14 days, 3, 12, and 24 months. No recurrences were seen during the observation time except for one patient, who had recurrence with dissemination of the disease and died 19 months postoperatively.