Outcomes of free flap breast reconstructions at a tertiary care facility vs a specialty surgical hospital: the New Orleans experience

INTRODUCTION: Breast reconstruction using microvascular techniques has been gaining popularity in the United Stares. Traditionally, these surgeries have been performed at tertiary care facilities with patients being sent to intensive care units for postoperative monitoring. We will present data to show that in the properly selected patient and with proper training of support staff, microvascular par breast reconstruction can be safely performed outside of these facilities without the need to an ICU admission.