Background: Breast reconstruction after cancer surgery is
crucial for women's psychological well-being and quality of
life. Many advances were made in reconstructive techniques
allowing it to become a common practice worldwide.
Aim of the Work: The aim of this study is to determine
the rate, type and timing of breast reconstruction in Sudanese
women.
Patients and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional
multi-centric hospital-based study involving the medical records
of all adult females with breast reconstruction following
breast cancer surgery in Khartoum locality from June 2020 to
June 2022.
Results: A total of 305 women had mastectomies during
the two-year study period, 46 (14.8%) of them had unilateral
breast reconstruction, the majority of which 30 (65.2%) were
done using autologous techniques, while 11 breast (23.9%) had
implant reconstruction, 5 (10.9%) had partial reconstruction
using oncoplastic techniques. The most autologous technique
used was LD flap reconstruction 21 breasts (70%), followed
by TRAM flap in 8 (26.67%) and DIEP flap in 1 (3.33%) in 41
(89.13%) the reconstruction was done immediately.
Conclusion: In this study, the rate of post-mastectomy
breast reconstruction is low with mostly immediate autologous
technique used. Raising awareness about breast reconstruction
and increasing cooperation with the general surgeons are some
of the ways to resolve this issue.