[The application of full-thickness advancement flap of upper abdominal wall in breast-conserving surgery for lower quadrant breast cancer]

Objective: To explore the application of full-thickness advancement flap of upper abdominal wall in breast-conserving surgery for lower quadrant breast cancer. Methods: This is a retrospective case series study. The clinic data of 25 lower quadrant breast cancer patients who underwent a breast-conserving surgery with advancement flap of full-thickness of upper abdominal wall at the Breast Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, from June 2022 to September 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were female, aged (47.6±5.8) years (range: 38 to 57 years). Tumor staging included stageⅠ in 8 cases, stageⅡA in 13 cases, stageⅡB in 4 cases. The subcutaneous fat thickness of the upper abdominal walls and the volume of wide local excision of the tumor were measured and recorded. The operation time of repairing the breast, the duration of retention of postoperative drainage tubes, postoperative complications, and cosmetic results were recorded. Results: The subcutaneous fat thickness in the upper abdominal walls was (1.7±0.2) cm (range: 1.3 to 2.2 cm), the excision volume of breast-conserving surgery was (70.8±13.6) mm³ (range: 49 to 97 mm³), the operation time of repairing the breast was (55.4±5.1) minutes (range: 45 to 65 minutes) and the retention time of the drainage tube was (7.4±0.8) days (range: 6 to 9 days). Cosmetic results: excellent in 12 cases (48.0%), good in 9 cases (36.0%) and fair in 4 cases (16.0%). There was 1 case of postoperative seroma in the donor area, which healed after repositioning the negative pressure drain. Conclusion: In breast-conserving surgery for lower quadrant breast cancer, using a full-thickness abdominal wall advancement flap to repair breast defects is a simple and effective tumor reconstructive technique, yielding good results in achieving postoperative symmetry of the lower quadrant of the breast.