Chemo Can Start Right After Breast Surgery

Study says reconstruction needn't delay procedure

MONDAY, Sept. 20, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- Performing breast reconstruction at the time of mastectomy doesn't delay postoperative chemotherapy for breast cancer patients, says a study in the September issue of the Archives of Surgery.

Some surgeons advise these patients to delay breast reconstruction due to concerns that skin infections and other complications may delay chemotherapy, which is typically started four to six weeks after mastectomy. Longer delays in initiating chemotherapy increase the risk of cancer recurrence and can threaten patient survival.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, Health System reviewed data on 128 women who had mastectomies between 1995 and 2002. They did find that wound complications were more common with immediate breast reconstruction at the time of mastectomy, but that these complications were too minor to warrant any delay in chemotherapy.

"These findings weren't a surprise to us, but we wanted to document the safety of immediate breast reconstruction so that surgeons in other settings can have the same confidence in the approach," study senior author Dr. Richard Bold, an associate professor of surgical oncology, said in a prepared statement.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast reconstruction.

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