Transaxillary endoscopic breast reconstruction: case series from single institution

Background: Endoscopic-assisted breast surgery represents a minimally invasive technique that allows surgeons to work within a small incision through a rounded instrument called endoscope. Nowadays, the use of endoscopic-assisted breast surgery is spreading amongst breast surgeons either for breast augmentation or for breast reconstruction, although literature is still scant. In the setting of breast reconstruction, endoscopic-assisted breast surgery can be performed for subcutaneous mastectomy along with direct to implant reconstruction as well as for implant exchange to prosthesis in two-stage breast surgery. Methods: Sixteen patients diagnosed with breast cancer who had mastectomy and breast reconstruction with tissue expander received the second stage breast surgery with transaxillary single-port endoscopic assisted technique. Results: Sixteen patients with mean age of 56 years underwent tissue expander removal and prosthetic implant replacement with single-port endoscopic technique. All procedures were performed without intraoperative and post-operative complications. None of the patients developed seroma, haematoma, infection or skin dehiscence. Conclusions: Transaxillary approach in breast reconstruction has shown good results in high risk irradiated skin to avoid local complications like dehiscence or implant exposure. Here, we report our single institution experience with endoscopic breast surgery amongst a subset of patients diagnosed with breast cancer who were scheduled for two-stage surgery and had their breast implant expander exchanged through transaxillary incision.