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Immediate Targeted Nipple-Areolar Complex Reinnervation: Improving Outcomes in Gender-affirming Mastectomy.

ABSTRACT: Female-to-male mastectomy often renders the chest skin and nipple-areolar complex (NAC) insensate. We propose a new technique of preserving the intercostal nerves and using them to reinnervate the NAC after mastectomy. Methods:We performed a prospective analysis of transmasculine patients who underwent female-to-male mastectomy. The technique involves dissecting out the lateral intercostal nerves to length and performing a neurorrhaphy to nerve stumps at the base of the NAC. Sensory outcomes, as assessed with Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments, were compared to a cohort of patients who underwent mastectomy without neurotization. Results:Ten patients with a mean age of 17.5 years (range: 16-19 years) underwent mastectomy. The final follow-up was a mean of 15.4 ± 4.3 months for the treated group and 40.7 ± 12.9 months for the control group. Compared to control patients, treated patients had significant improvement in sensation at the nipple (P ? 0.0002), areola (P = 0.0001), and peripheral breast skin (P = 0.0001). For treated patients, there was no statistically significant difference in sensation between preoperative and postoperative sensation in all tested areas at final follow-up. Conclusion:This proof of concept study suggests that immediate reinnervation of the NAC after mastectomy enhances recovery of NAC sensation in patients undergoing female-to-male mastectomy and may be further generalized to women undergoing postmastectomy breast reconstruction.

SUBMITTER: Rochlin DH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7253256 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Immediate Targeted Nipple-Areolar Complex Reinnervation: Improving Outcomes in Gender-affirming Mastectomy.

Rochlin Danielle H DH Brazio Phil P Wapnir Irene I Nguyen Dung D

Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open 20200325 3

Female-to-male mastectomy often renders the chest skin and nipple-areolar complex (NAC) insensate. We propose a new technique of preserving the intercostal nerves and using them to reinnervate the NAC after mastectomy.<h4>Methods</h4>We performed a prospective analysis of transmasculine patients who underwent female-to-male mastectomy. The technique involves dissecting out the lateral intercostal nerves to length and performing a neurorrhaphy to nerve stumps at the base of the NAC. Sensory outco ...[more]

PMID: 32537367

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Project description:ImportanceThere has been increasing legislative interest in regulating gender-affirming surgery, in part due to the concern about decisional regret. The regret rate following gender-affirming surgery is thought to be approximately 1%; however, previous studies relied heavily on ad hoc instruments.ObjectiveTo evaluate long-term decisional regret and satisfaction with decision using validated instruments following gender-affirming mastectomy.Design, setting, and participantsFor this cross-sectional study, a survey of patient-reported outcomes was sent between February 1 and July 31, 2022, to patients who had undergone gender-affirming mastectomy at a US tertiary referral center between January 1, 1990, and February 29, 2020.ExposureDecisional regret and satisfaction with decision to undergo gender-affirming mastectomy.Main outcomes and measuresLong-term patient-reported outcomes, including the Holmes-Rovner Satisfaction With Decision scale, the Decision Regret Scale, and demographic characteristics, were collected. Additional information was collected via medical record review. Descriptive statistics and univariable analysis using Fisher exact and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed to compare responders and nonresponders.ResultsA total of 235 patients were deemed eligible for the study, and 139 responded (59.1% response rate). Median age at the time of surgery was 27.1 (IQR, 23.0-33.4) years for responders and 26.4 (IQR, 23.1-32.7) years for nonresponders. Nonresponders (n = 96) had a longer postoperative follow-up period than responders (median follow-up, 4.6 [IQR, 3.1-8.6] vs 3.6 [IQR, 2.7-5.3] years, respectively; P = .002). Nonresponders vs responders also had lower rates of depression (42 [44%] vs 94 [68%]; P < .001) and anxiety (42 [44%] vs 97 [70%]; P < .001). No responders or nonresponders requested or underwent a reversal procedure. The median Satisfaction With Decision Scale score was 5.0 (IQR, 5.0-5.0) on a 5-point scale, with higher scores noting higher satisfaction. The median Decision Regret Scale score was 0.0 (IQR, 0.0-0.0) on a 100-point scale, with lower scores noting lower levels of regret. A univariable regression analysis could not be performed to identify characteristics associated with low satisfaction with decision or high decisional regret due to the lack of variation in these responses.Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional survey study, the results of validated survey instruments indicated low rates of decisional regret and high levels of satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming mastectomy. The lack of dissatisfaction and regret impeded the ability to perform a more complex statistical analysis, highlighting the need for condition-specific instruments to assess decisional regret and satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming surgery.

Project description:Background Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) followed by immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is the optimal surgical treatment for breast cancer. However, investigations are ongoing to improve the surgical technique to achieve better results. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of modified NSM (m-NSM), which preserves the anterior lamellar fat layer, in patients who underwent IBR. Methods All patients who underwent modified NSM (m-NSM) or conventional NSM (c-NSM) followed by IBR using autologous tissue or implants were retrospectively reviewed between January 2014 and January 2021. Two mastectomy types were compared in terms of postoperative complications and aesthetic outcomes using panel assessment scores by physicians and reported outcomes using Breast-Q. In addition, postoperative evaluations of the thickness of mastectomy flap was performed using CT scan images. Results A total of 516 patients (580 breasts) with NSM (143 breasts with c-NSM and 437 breasts with m-NSM) followed by IBR were reviewed. The mean ± SD flap thickness was 8.48 ± 1.81 mm in patients who underwent m-NSM, while it was 6.32 ± 1.15 mm in the c-NSM cohort (p = 0.02). The overall major complications rate was lower in the m-NSM group (3.0% vs. 9.0%, p < 0.013). Ischemic complications of the mastectomy flap and nipple-areolar complex (NAC) were more in c-NSM, although the difference was not statistically significant. The mean panel assessment scores were higher in the m-NSM group (3.14 (good) and 2.38 (fair) in the m-NSM and c-NSM groups, respectively; p < 0.001). Moreover, m-NSM was associated with greater improvements in psychosocial (p < 0.001) and sexual (p = 0.007) well-being. Conclusion Preserving the anterior lamellar fat in NSM was associated with thicker mastectomy flap, overall lower rates of complications, including ischemia of the mastectomy flap and nipple-areolar complex, and was associated with better aesthetic outcomes and improved quality of life.

Project description:There are more than 3 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States of which a significant number have undergone mastectomy followed by breast and nipple-areolar complex (NAC) reconstruction. Current strategies for NAC reconstruction are dependent on nonliving or nonpermanent techniques, including tattooing, nipple prosthetics, or surgical nipple-like structures. Described herein is a tissue engineering approach demonstrating the feasibility of an allogeneic acellular graft for nipple reconstruction. Nonhuman primate (NHP)-derived NAC tissues were decellularized and their extracellular matrix components analyzed by both proteomic and histological analyses. Decellularized NHP nipple tissue showed the removal of intact cells and greatly diminished profiles for intracellular proteins, as compared with intact NHP nipple tissue. We further evaluated the biocompatibility of decellularized grafts and their potential to support host-mediated neovascularization against commercially available acellular dermal grafts by performing in vivo studies in a murine model. A follow-up NHP pilot study evaluated the host-mediated neovascularization and re-epithelialization of onlay engrafted decellularized NAC grafts. The murine model revealed greater neovascularization in the decellularized NAC than in the commercially available control grafts, with no observed biocompatibility issues. The in vivo NHP model confirmed that the decellularized NAC grafts encourage neovascularization as well as re-epithelialization. These results support the concept that a biologically derived acellular nipple graft is a feasible approach for nipple reconstruction, supporting neovascularization in the absence of adverse systemic responses. Impact statement Currently, women in the United States most often undergo a mastectomy, followed by reconstruction, after being diagnosed with breast cancer. These breast cancer survivors are often left with nipple-areolar complex (NAC) reconstructions that are subsatisfactory, nonliving, and/or nonpermanent. Utilizing an acellular biologically derived whole NAC graft would allow these patients a living and permanent tissue engineering solution to nipple reconstruction.

Dataset Information

Immediate Targeted Nipple-Areolar Complex Reinnervation: Improving Outcomes in Gender-affirming Mastectomy.

Publications

Immediate Targeted Nipple-Areolar Complex Reinnervation: Improving Outcomes in Gender-affirming Mastectomy.

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