Immediate Breast Reconstruction for Inflammatory Breast Carcinoma: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Inflammatory breast carcinoma (IBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer involving skin lymphatics. Breast reconstruction traditionally has been delayed in IBC. Immediate reconstruction has been described in select patients. Studies evaluating the reconstructive and oncologic safety of immediate breast reconstruction in this patient population are limited and retrospective. The purpose of this study is to assess the current body of literature on immediate breast reconstruction in IBC patients to identify knowledge gaps. A scoping review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Cochrane databases. Original articles that evaluated patients diagnosed with IBC who underwent immediate breast reconstruction were included. The search yielded 821 articles, of which 9 articles containing 1429 IBC patients were included for analysis. Immediate implant-based reconstruction occurred in 12.2% (174/1429) of patients. Immediate autologous reconstruction occurred in 19.0% (272/1429). Immediate reconstruction with both autologous and implant-based techniques was 4.5% (64/1429). Reconstruction type was not reported for 63.0% (899/1429) of patients. Postoperative complications occurred in 1.8% (26/1429) of patients. Local cancer recurrence was 14.3% (3/21) at 18.9 months. The mortality rate was 32.4% (131/404) at 22 months. Performance of immediate breast reconstruction can be safely performed from a reconstructive standpoint in select patients.