Comparison of Donor-Site Morbidity of SIEA, DIEP, and Muscle-Sparing TRAM Flaps for Breast Reconstruction

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Breast reconstruction is best accomplished with lower abdominal tissue, but this results in abdominal donor-site morbidity. The superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) flap is the least invasive method of lower abdominal flap breast reconstruction; however, there are no published data comparing the donor-site morbidity of SIEA flaps to that of transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) or deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flaps. The authors used a 12-question patient survey and retrospective chart review to compare donor-site function, pain, and aesthetics in 179 patients who had unilateral or bilateral breast reconstruction with 47 SIEA flaps, 49 DIEP flaps, and 136 muscle-sparing free TRAM flaps during a 5-year period. Unilateral SIEA flap patients scored higher on 10 of the 12 survey questions compared with unilateral muscle-sparing TRAM flap patients, including reporting significantly better postoperative lifting function (p = 0.02) and nearly significantly shorter duration of abdominal pain (p = 0.06). Bilateral reconstruction patients with at least one SIEA flap scored higher on all 12 survey questions, including reporting significantly better ability to get out of bed (sit-up motion) compared with patients with bilateral muscle-sparing TRAM or DIEP flaps (p = 0.02). Breast reconstruction using SIEA flaps results in significantly less abdominal donor-site morbidity than DIEP flaps in bilateral cases and free muscle-sparing TRAM flaps in unilateral and bilateral cases. These are clinically relevant differences that are perceived by patients and lead to the authors' recommendation to use SIEA flaps for breast reconstruction when possible to minimize abdominal donor-site morbidity.