Current challenges in breast reconstruction

This special series aims to provide a concise but comprehensive overview of the current challenging topics in breast reconstruction and their management by leading experts in the field.

• Breast reconstruction of the thin or ptotic patient.
  • Evolution in breast reconstruction using the omentum;
  • Hybrid breast reconstruction: a systematic review of current trends and future direction;
  • Protecting nipple-areola complex perfusion by devascularization and surgical delay;
  • Staged breast reduction before nipple-sparing mastectomy with reconstruction.
• Sensation restoration after mastectomy.
  • Neurotization of the nipple-areola complex: superior nipple sensation in gender-affirming mastectomy and autologous breast reconstruction;
  • Breast reinnervation—the next frontier in autologous breast reconstruction: a review of early results;
  • Sensory reinnervation after mastectomy with implant-based reconstruction.
• Concurrent lymphedema treatment with breast reconstruction.
  • Immediate lymphatic reconstruction for breast cancer;
  • Vascularized lymph vessel transplant (VLVT): our experience and lymphedema treatment algorithm;
  • Treatment algorithm to guide decision making in breast and lymphedema reconstruction: the Aristotle University experience.

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Provenance and Peer Review: This article was commissioned by the editorial office, Annals of Breast Surgery for the series “Cutting-edge of Complex Breast Reconstruction”. The article did not undergo external peer review.

Conflicts of Interest: The author has completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://abs.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/abs-21-85/coif). The series “Cutting-edge of Complex Breast Reconstruction” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. DN served as the unpaid Guest Editor of the series and serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Annals of Breast Surgery from December 2019 to November 2023. The author has no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The author is accountable for all aspects of the work to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Dung Nguyen