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Exploring Complication Rates: A Comparative Study of Breast Reduction and Combined Breast Reduction with Abdominoplasty

  • Original Articles
  • Breast Surgery
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Abstract

Background

Despite a trend towards combining abdominoplasty with breast reduction surgery, so called “mommy makeovers”, the safety of this combined approach has been the subject of debate, with previous research yielding conflicting results. We evaluated the risk for complications and revision associated with adding abdominoplasty to bilateral breast reduction surgery.

Methods

We conducted a 10-year single-center retrospective chart review of bilateral breast reduction patients in Nova Scotia. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to compare the risk for complication and revision in patients with bilateral breast reduction to those with a concomitant abdominoplasty.

Results

Of the 1871 patients initially screened, 738 were included. 44 underwent a concomitant abdominoplasty procedure. Compared to the breast reduction alone group, patients with concomitant abdominoplasty were significantly older (47.5±9.9 vs. 42.8±13.2, p=0.004), had a higher BMI (28.1±4.4 vs. 25.8±3.1, p<0.001), and experienced longer operating room times (226±6 vs. 115±3 mins, p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, concomitant abdominoplasty did not increase the risk for breast-related (OR: 0.86 95%CI 0.43–1.7, p=0.668) or total complications (OR: 1.63, 95%CI 0.83–3.19, p=0.154). However, there was a trend towards an increased risk of breast revision (OR: 2.684, 95%CI 0.95–7.6, p=0.062) and a significantly increased risk of total revision (OR: 6.624, 95%CI 2.7–16.1, p<0.001). Moreover, patients with concomitant abdominoplasty experienced more follow-up visits (median: 4 vs. 3 visits, p=0.042).

Conclusion

In our single-center retrospective analysis, combining abdominoplasty with bilateral breast reduction did not increase the risk for breast, or total complications; however, it did increase the risk for total revisions.

Level of Evidence III

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Acknowledgements

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There were no funding sources (internal or external) for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie Medical School, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Panthea Pouramin

  2. Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Todd Dow & Jason Williams

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  1. Panthea Pouramin
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  2. Todd Dow
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Contributions

PP: Contributed to study design, analysis of results, drafting of the manuscript, final approval of the manuscript, and agrees to be held accountable for all aspects of the work. TD: Contributed to study design, data acquisition, data extraction, analysis of results, drafting of the manuscript, final approval of the manuscript, and agrees to be held accountable for all aspects of the work. JW: Contributed to study design, drafting of the manuscript, final approval of the manuscript, and agrees to be held accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Panthea Pouramin.

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This study was approved by our institution’s research ethics board. This article conforms to the guidelines set forth by the Helsinki Declaration in 1975.

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Pouramin, P., Dow, T. & Williams, J. Exploring Complication Rates: A Comparative Study of Breast Reduction and Combined Breast Reduction with Abdominoplasty. Aesth Plast Surg (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00266-024-04040-y

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