A recent study published in the ‘Journal of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery’ reported that implant-based reconstruction does not increase the risk of persistent pain after breast cancer surgery (PPBCT) when compared to other surgical procedures or mastectomy alone. Implant-based breast reconstruction is a surgical process of restoring the shape of the breast using silicone devices which contain silicone gel or saline water.
Persistent pain management following breast cancer surgery is becoming a challenge for surgeons, due to increasing number of reconstructive surgeries. Majority of studies conducted till date, have compared the levels of PPBCT between patients undergoing reconstruction and patients opting for non-reconstructive surgeries. This study aimed to assess the impact of implant-based reconstruction on PPBCT levels.
This study was a systematic literature review which analyzed data from 2281 articles through databases. A thorough review was carried out, after which 11 eligible articles were included for the final review. 7 of these articles showed no increased chances of PPBCT following implant-based breast reconstruction and 2 articles reported lower risk of PPBCT following implant-based breast reconstruction.
The results of the study indicated that breast reconstruction surgeries with implants do not increase chances of PPBCT and this relationship may further help doctors and their patients in the decision-making for appropriate reconstruction technique.
Source: Guliyeva G, Torres R, Avila F, Kaplan J, Lu X, Forte A. The Impact of implant-based reconstruction on persistent pain after breast cancer surgery: A systematic review. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery. 2021.
Know the cancer – Breast cancer treatment
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