2022 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 37-41
Nipple areolar complex (NAC) reconstruction is the final surgery in breast reconstruction. The subjects consisted of patients that underwent total mastectomy and breast reconstruction between April 1, 2010, and March 31, 2020, at the University of Tsukuba Hospital. We investigated the NAC reconstruction rate associated with breast reconstruction methods, lateralization, immediate or delayed breast reconstruction, the average age at the time of mastectomy, and methods of NAC reconstruction up to March 31, 2021. The average age at mastectomy was 48.1 years in NAC-reconstructed cases and 48.5 years in unreconstructed cases. The NAC reconstruction rate was 37.7% (36.3% for unilateral breast and 63.6% for bilateral breast) . It was 39.6% after autologous tissue reconstruction and 35.9% after breast implant. Moreover, it was 31.1% for immediate reconstruction and 62.8% for delayed reconstruction. A significant difference was found in the timing of breast reconstruction. It was reported in other countries that patients were highly satisfied after undergoing NAC reconstruction ; thus, future studies are needed to investigate the satisfaction of NAC reconstruction in Japan.
