Commentary on: Lessons Learned from Twenty-Eight Cases of Burns Following Breast Reconstruction: An Underestimated Complication Requiring Inclusion in Consent Information.

Abstract

The authors of this article have reviewed their experience with 28 cases of burn injury following prosthetic (n = 22) and autologous (n = 6) breast reconstruction.1 The data have been summarized and recommendations for prevention are well described. The authors conclude that burn injuries are an often-overlooked complication that should be discussed with all patients prior to breast reconstruction to increase awareness of this untoward event. They also suggest that “innervated” reconstruction would “probably” restore the ability of reconstructed breasts to thermoregulate and minimize burn injury. The authors briefly discuss 2 possible mechanisms that explain why mastectomy skin and autologous flaps are more susceptible to burn injury. The first involves the inability of these tissues to adequately thermoregulate. The second is based on the inability of denervated tissue to detect a heat stimulus, rendering it susceptible to burn. To better understand this mechanism of action, it is important...