IntroductionAs reconstructive surgeons have increasingly transitioned to the pre-pectoral plane for prosthetic breast reconstruction, the implications of mastectomy skin flap necrosis have become more concerning. Our goal was to evaluate the effect of skin flap necrosis on reconstructive outcomes in patients undergoing immediate pre-pectoral breast reconstruction. MethodsA retrospective review was conducted of patients undergoing immediate two-stage pre-pectoral reconstruction at a single center with at least 3-month follow-up. Postoperative complication, reconstructive outcome, and time to final implant were compared between patients with and without mastectomy skin necrosis. ResultsA total of 301 patients underwent 509 pre-pectoral breast reconstructions. Forty-four patients (14.6%) experienced postoperative mastectomy skin flap necrosis. Demographic and reconstructive characteristics were similar between the necrosis and no necrosis cohorts. Patients with skin necrosis were more likely to undergo reoperation after tissue expander (64% vs 19%, p<0.01) and undergo expander replacement (13.6% vs 3.5%, p=0.02). However, rates of reconstructive failure (6.8% vs 6.2%), major infection (9.1% vs 9.0%), and minor infection (13.6% vs 17.5%) after expander placement were statistically similar. Patients with skin necrosis trended towards longer time before final implant placement, though not statistically significant (6.5 vs 5.0 months, p=0.08). There was no difference in complication rates between the necrosis and no necrosis cohort after final implant placement. There was a higher rate of revision surgery after implant placement in the necrosis cohort (12.5% vs 4.1%, p=0.047). ConclusionMastectomy skin flap necrosis is a concerning postoperative event, particularly in patients with pre-pectoral prostheses. We observed that patients with skin necrosis experience higher reoperation rates in the expander period, yet have similar infection rates and achieve similar final reconstructive outcomes compared to patients without necrosis.