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Previous studies assessing the costs associated with two stage expander/implant (E/I) reconstruction rarely include the cost of complications. The purpose of this study is to analyze the complication costs associated with a single institution experience with immediate E/I reconstruction. All immediate two stage E/I reconstructions at a single institution between March 2005-April 2011 were reviewed. The reconstruction database was retrospectively queried for reconstructive details, complications, and cost. Statistical analyses were performed to determine which complications significantly increased reconstructive cost. 327 E/I reconstructions in 195 patients were analyzed. The major complications analyzed included haematoma requiring evacuation (1.2% of reconstructions), major infection (6.1% of reconstructions), E/I exposure (3.1% of reconstructions), and E/I rupture (2.4% of reconstructions); 2.1% of patients experienced reconstructive failure. The mean reconstructive cost was $22,323 ± 9,072. Costs were increased $12,554 by E/I infection (p < 0.001) and $17,153 by prosthetic exposure (p < 0.001). Pre- or postoperative radiation or chemotherapy did not significantly affect reconstructive costs. Unplanned readmissions or unplanned visits to the operative room significantly increased total reconstructive costs (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, prosthetic infection and prosthetic exposure significantly increased costs associated with immediate two-stage E/I reconstruction, as did unplanned readmissions and unplanned visits to the operative room. In the current state of the US healthcare system, it is becoming more important for surgeons to be conscious of the economic burden associated with poor reconstructive outcomes.

Complex abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) is commonly performed, but with a significant rate of surgical complications and hernia recurrence. The aim of this experiential review is to assess risk factors for hernia recurrence after complex AWR. A retrospective review of AWR patients from 2007-2012 was performed. Rates of hernia recurrence were assessed. Univariate analyses and subsequent multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to assess independent predictors of early hernia recurrence. One hundred and thirty-four consecutive cases of AWR were performed over a 5-year period. Hernia recurrence developed in 14 (10.4%) patients. Hernias derived from trauma (OR = 19.76, p = 0.011) and those who experienced postoperative wound infections (OR = 18.81, p = 0.004) were at increased risk for hernia recurrence. In conclusion, increased vigilance must be paid to patients presenting after trauma with massive loss of domain and those who experience postoperative infection, as these cohorts are at added risk for failed reconstruction.

Panniculectomy (PAN) during ventral hernia repair (VHR) can be a challenging procedure associated with added risk. We utilized the ACS-NSQIP datasets to generate a risk model of morbidity following these combined interventions.The 2005-2012 ACS-NSQIP databases were queried to identify all patients undergoing VHR-PAN. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess perioperative factors associated with surgical and medical morbidity. Internal validation was performed using bootstrap analysis and risk stratification was performed using weighted β-coefficients.1974 patients underwent VHR-PAN with an average age of 53.6 ± 12.4 years and BMI of 36.4 ± 10.1 kg/m2. Surgical complications occurred in 23.8% of patients, whereas medical complications occurred in 11.5%. A multivariate logistic regression identified the presence of a renal comorbidity (OR = 1.62, P = 0.045), class II obesity (BMI = 34.9-40.0 kg/m2) (OR = 1.89, P0.001), class III obesity (BMI≥40 kg/m2) (OR = 2.66, P0.001), dirty/infected wound class (OR = 2.01, P = 0.003), smoking (OR = 1.41, P = 0.026), prolonged operative time (OR = 2.12, P = 0.001), and ASA physical status of ≥3 (OR = 1.69, P0.001) as independently associated with higher incidences of postoperative surgical complications. A multivariate regression analysis identified class II or III obesity (OR = 1.70, P = 0.003), contaminated or dirty/infected wounds (OR = 1.95, P0.001), diabetes (OR = 1.96, P = 0.001), pulmonary comorbidity (OR = 2.08, P = 0.005), and component separation (OR = 2.65, P0.001) as independently associated with higher incidences of postoperative medical complications. Simplified risk models of surgical and medical morbidity demonstrated good discrimination with C statistics of 0.69 and 0.70, respectively.We report a simple preoperative, internally-validated risk model of surgical and medical morbidity following VHR-PAN to guide patient selection.Prognostic/risk category, level II.

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism, including deep venous thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, is a morbid and costly complication following surgical procedures. The authors aim to assess the added risk of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction. METHODS The 2005 to 2011 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program data sets were used to identify patients undergoing mastectomy with or without immediate breast reconstruction. The dependent variable and our primary outcome was 30-day venous thromboembolism. Venous thromboembolism events were treated as a dichotomous variable. Subgroup analyses were performed with respect to procedure and body mass index stratifications. RESULTS A total of 48,634 patients were identified. Postoperative venous thromboembolism occurred in 184 patients (0.4 percent), including deep venous thrombosis (n = 118) and pulmonary embolism (n = 82). A multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that immediate breast reconstruction, either implant-based (OR, 1.65; p = 0.01) or autologous (OR, 2.14; p = 0.009), was associated with a greater odds of venous thromboembolism. Obesity was also identified as a risk factor for venous thromboembolism: class I (OR, 2.20; p < 0.001), class II (OR, 1.6; p < 0.092), and class III (OR, 2.88; p < 0.001). Impaired patient functional status (OR, 2.56; p = 0.035), recent irradiation (OR, 3.60; p = 0.03), and underlying renal comorbidities (OR, 5.60; p < 0.001) were associated with venous thromboembolism in adjusted analysis. Subgroup analysis of nonobese patients demonstrated that implant reconstruction (0.2 percent versus 0.3 percent; p = 0.383) did not confer an added risk of venous thromboembolism, whereas analysis of obese patients revealed a modality-specific increased risk of venous thromboembolism (0.4 percent versus 0.8 percent versus 1.8 percent; p < 0.001) between mastectomy compared to implant and autologous reconstruction, and for which all intergroup comparisons were significant (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Immediate breast reconstruction is associated with an added risk of venous thromboembolism relative to mastectomy, but this risk is procedure and body mass index dependent. Overall, autologous reconstruction and states of obesity placed patients at significant added risk for venous thromboembolism, particularly when both factors are present. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Risk, III.

Breast reduction surgery is a common and effective surgical technique for treating symptomatic macromastia. There is limited data on the impact of resident involvement on outcomes. This study uses the ACS-NSQIP datasets to assess the impact of surgical resident participation in breast reduction surgery. This study reviewed the 2005-2011 ACS-NSQIP databases identifying primary encounters for reduction mammaplasty with CPT code "19318". It characterised surgical complications into three groups: any, major, and wound complications. Propensity scoring and matched analysis were used to account for non-randomised assignment. In total, 4328 patients underwent reduction mammoplasty during the study period. Resident participation was identified in 56.3% of cases. Logistic regression analysis determined the following factors independently associated with resident participation: class II obesity (OR = 0.73, p0.001), class III obesity (OR = 0.68, p0.001), dyspnea (OR = 1.59, p = 0.04), and ASA physical status of 3 (OR = 1.51, p0.001). A propensity score was assigned based on probability of resident involvement and matched cohorts were created and analyzed. A logistic regression analysis of the matched cohort data revealed that resident participation was independently associated with major surgical complications (OR = 2.18, p = 0.008). Prolonged operative (2 SD) was associated with any (OR = 3.3, p = 0.039) and wound (OR = 10.2, p = 0.028) complications. A separate logistic regression analysis of the unmatched cohort using stratified PGY experience demonstrated that junior PGY was most highly associated with any (OR = 1.93, p = 0.013), major (OR = 2.4, p = 0.034), and wound (OR = 1.9, p = 0.04) complications. Resident participation was associated with added risk of surgical morbidity, and PGY experience was inversely related to risk of surgical complications in breast reduction surgery.

BACKGROUND: Ventral hernia remains a continued and expensive problem for general and reconstructive surgeons, alike. The aim of this study was to assess perioperative factors and cost associated with postoperative respiratory morbidity in abdominal wall reconstruction. METHODS: A retrospective review of abdominal wall reconstruction patients operated on between 2007 and 2012 was performed. Analysis of perioperative factors associated with postoperative respiratory morbidity was performed using hospital-defined International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess independent predictors of postoperative respiratory morbidity, and linear regression was used to determine the financial impact. RESULTS: One hundred thirty-four consecutive abdominal wall reconstructions performed by a single surgeon over a 5-year period were included. Respiratory complications occurred in 15.7 percent of patients (n = 21); 5.2 percent required reintubation (n = 7) and 5.2 percent failed to wean from ventilatory support postoperatively (n = 7). Patients experiencing respiratory morbidity stayed on average 16.2 days longer (p < 0.0001) and represented the only three patients in the study experiencing mortality (p = 0.003). Regression analysis demonstrated that intraoperative blood transfusions (p = 0.008), highest peak intraoperative airway pressure (p = 0.017), fascial closure (p = 0.013), and American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status (p = 0.019) were all associated with postoperative respiratory morbidity. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that respiratory complications added a cost of $60,933 per patient (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative respiratory morbidity following abdominal wall reconstruction is a common occurrence linked to identifiable perioperative risk factors and associated with significant mortality and a tremendous cost burden. These findings underscore the importance of preoperative risk stratification and patient selection to optimize outcome and contain cost.

Ventral hernias are a common, challenging, and expensive problem for both the general and reconstructive surgeons; therefore, the aim of this study is to critically assess perioperative factors related to cost in abdominal wall reconstructions (AWR). A retrospective review of AWR patients from 2007 and 2012 was performed. Analysis of perioperative factors associated with total cost of reconstruction was performed. Linear regression analyses were used to assess independent predictors of total cost. 134 consecutive AWR performed by a single surgeon over a 5-year period at an academic teaching center were included. The average total cost of AWR was $61,251 ± 55,624. Linear regression analysis demonstrated that diabetes (P = 0.026), increased American Society of Anesthesiologists score (P = 0.002), preoperative anemia (P = 0.001), and hernias derived from trauma (P = 0.015) were independently associated with added cost in AWR when controlling for confounding variables. In addition, patients requiring intra-abdominal procedures (P = 0.012) and those receiving an AWR using Acellular Dermal Matrix (P = 0.015) accrued significantly greater cost. Interestingly, preoperative placement of an epidural (P = 0.011) was independently associated with significant cost savings and reduced medical morbidity. Major surgical complications (P

Recent studies have assessed the risks and benefits of performing concurrent panniculectomy (PAN) in the setting of hernia repair, gynecologic surgery, and oncologic resections with conflicting results. The aim of this study is to assess the added risk of ventral hernia repair and panniculectomy (VHR-PAN) using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) data sets.The 2005-2011 ACS-NSQIP databases were queried to identify all patients undergoing VHR alone or VHR-PAN. Propensity scores were used to account for potential selection bias given the non-randomized assignment of concurrent panniculectomy and the retrospective nature of this study. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to assess the impact of concurrent PAN on complications.A total of 55,537 patients were identified. Propensity matching yielded two groups of patients: VHR (n = 1250) and VHR-PAN (n = 1250). Few statistically significant differences existed between matched cohorts. Overall, wound complications (P0.001), venous thromboembolism (P = 0.044), incidence of reoperation (P0.001), and medical morbidity (P0.001) were significantly higher in the VHR-PAN group. In an adjusted, fixed-effects analysis, concurrent panniculectomy was associated with wound healing complications (OR = 1.69, P0.001), increased incidence of unplanned reoperations (OR = 2.08, P ≤ 0.001), venous thromboembolism (OR = 2.48, P = 0.043), and overall medical morbidity (OR = 2.08, P0.001). Sub-group analysis of wound complications demonstrated that superficial surgical site infections occurred significantly more often in concurrent cases (P = 0.018).This analysis quantifies the added risk of performing a panniculectomy concurrent with ventral hernia repair, demonstrating higher incidence of wound complications (superficial infections), unplanned reoperations, and VTE.Prognostic/risk category, level II.

Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) using implants remains a favorable reconstructive option in breast cancer. Understanding the added risk associated with IBR continues to enhance the risk counseling process and management of these patients.Women undergoing mastectomy alone and mastectomy with tissue expander (TE) were identified in the ACS-NSQIP datasets. Specific complications examined included any, wound, medical complications, and deep infections. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify predictors of outcomes, and propensity-matching was used to compare cohorts.A total of 42,823 patients who underwent either mastectomy alone (N = 30,440) or mastectomy with immediate TE placement (N = 12,383) were identified. Notable independently associated perioperative differences between mastectomy and TE patients included: race (P0.001), comorbidity burden (P0.001), year of surgery (P0.001), ASA physical status (P0.001), functional status (P0.001), inpatient procedures (P0.001), bilateral procedures (P0.001), BMI (P0.001), age (P0.001), and lymphadenectomy (P0.001). IBR using TE was not found to be associated with greater risk of wound (3.3% vs. 3.2%, P = 0.855), medical (1.7% vs. 1.6%, P = 0.751), or overall (9.6% vs. 10.0%, P = 0.430) complications. TE placement was associated with higher rates of deep wound infections (2.0% vs. 1.0%, P0.001) and unplanned reoperations (6.9% vs. 6.1%, P = 0.025). Additionally, the rate of 30-day device loss was 0.8% in patients receiving reconstruction. Multivariate conditional (fixed-effects) logistic regression analysis failed to demonstrate significantly associated independent risk of wound, medical, or overall complications with the addition of TE.Undergoing IBR with TE placement does not confer added risk of wound, medical, or overall morbidity relative to mastectomy alone based upon propensity-matched 30-day complication rates in 15,238 patients from the 2005-2011 ACS-NSQIP datasets. These findings further confirm the safety profile of prosthetic-based IBR.Prognostic/risk category, level II.

The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence and predictors of surgical and medical morbidity following body contouring procedures.The authors reviewed the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2005 to 2010 for all identifiable body contouring cases including Current Procedural Terminology codes for brachioplasty, medial thigh lift, abdominoplasty, and suction-assisted lipectomy. Independent predictors of morbidity were determined.A total of 1797 patients underwent body contouring during the study period, and most were female (n = 1600; 89.0 percent). The average body mass index was 31.6 kg/m, and 239 were morbidly obese (body mass index ≥ 40 kg/m). The most common area of intervention was the trunk region, with 1652 patients (91.9 percent) receiving abdominal contouring and/or contouring of the hips and buttocks. Minor wound complications occurred in 114 individuals (6.3 percent), 122 patients (6.8 percent) suffered a major surgical morbidity, and 40 (2.2 percent) experienced a medical complication. Multiple comorbidities (OR, 15.87; p = 0.014), presence of bleeding disorder (OR, 20.31; p = 0.026), preoperative albumin level (OR, 0.14; p = 0.003), and malnutrition (OR, 0.19; p = 0.065) were associated with an increased odds of minor wound complications. Inpatient procedures (OR, 4.64; p = 0.06) and functional status (OR, 9.71; p = 0.011) were associated with an increased odds of major surgical morbidity.This study characterizes the 30-day morbidity rates in patients undergoing body contouring procedures using a large, prospective, validated national data set, highlighting the critical importance of careful preoperative patient evaluation and underscoring the need for detailed preoperative counseling and risk stratification.Risk, III.

Early prosthesis loss is an infrequent but serious complication after breast reconstruction. We assessed perioperative risk factors associated with early device loss after immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) using the ACS-NSQIP datasets.We reviewed the 2005 to 2011 ACS-NSQIP databases identifying encounters for CPT codes 19357 and 19340. Patients were identified as experiencing a "loss of graft/prosthetic" based on a standard dataset variable. Patients who experienced a device loss were compared with those who did not with respect to perioperative characteristics.We identified 14,585 patients with an average age of 50.9 ± 10.6 years. A multivariate regression analysis determined that age (55 years) (odds ratio [OR] 1.66, p = 0.013) (risk score = 1), class II obesity (OR 3.17, p0.001) (risk score = 3), class III obesity (OR 2.41, p = 0.014) (risk score = 3), active smoking (OR 2.95, p0.001) (risk score = 3), bilateral reconstruction (OR 1.67, p = 0.007) (risk score = 1), and direct-to-implant (DTI) reconstruction (OR 1.69, p = 0.024) (risk score = 1) were associated with early device loss. Odds ratios were used to assign weighted risk scores to each patient, and risk categories were broken into low risk (0 to 1, n = 9,349), intermediate risk (2 to 5, n = 5,001), and high risk (≥ 6, n = 233) groups. The risk of device loss was significantly higher with increased risk score (0.39% vs 1.48% vs 3.86%, p0.001).Early device loss following IBR is a complex multifactorial process related to identifiable preoperative risk factors. This study demonstrated that age, obesity, smoking, bilateral procedures, and DTI reconstructions are associated with increased risk of implant loss.

Surgical complications after breast reconstruction can be associated with significant morbidity, dissatisfaction, and cost. We used the ACS-NSQIP datasets from 2005 to 2011 to derive predictors of morbidity and to stratify risk after immediate breast reconstruction (IBR).Surgical complications after implant and autologous reconstruction were assessed using the ACS-NSQIP 2005 to 2011 datasets. Patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and operative factors were associated with the likelihood of experiencing a surgical complication. A "model cohort" of 12,129 patients was randomly selected from the study cohort to derive predictors. Weighted odds ratios derived from logistic regression analysis were used to create a composite risk score and to stratify patients. The remaining one-third of the cohort (n = 6,065) were used as the "validation cohort" to assess the accuracy value of the risk model.On adjusted analysis, autologous reconstruction (odds ratio [OR] 1.41, p0.001), American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status ≥ 3 (OR 1.25, p = 0.004), class I obesity (OR 1.38, p0.001), class II obesity (OR 1.91, p0.001), class III obesity (OR 1.70, p0.001), and active smoking (OR 1.46, p0.001) were associated with complications. Risk factors were weighted and patients were stratified into low (0 to 2, n = 9,133, risk = 7.14%), intermediate (3 to 4, n = 1,935, risk = 10.90%), high (5 to 7, n = 1,024, risk = 16.70%), and very high (8 to 9, n = 37, risk = 27.02%) risk categories based on their total risk score (p0.001). Internal validation of the "model cohort" using the "validation cohort" was performed demonstrating accurate prediction of risk across groups: low (7.1% vs 7.1%, respectively, p = 0.9), intermediate (10.9% vs 12.0%, respectively, p = 0.38), high (16.7% vs 16.8%, respectively, p = 0.95), and very high (27.0% vs 30.0%, respectively, p = 1.0).Surgical complications after IBR are related to preoperatively identifiable factors that can be used to accurately risk stratify patients, which may assist with counseling, selection, and perioperative decision-making.

Breast reconstruction is an integral component of breast cancer treatment, often aiding in restoring a patient's sense of femininity. However, many patients choose to have subsequent cosmetic surgery. The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons that motivate patients to have cosmetic surgery after breast reconstruction.The authors performed a retrospective study examining patients who had breast reconstruction and subsequent cosmetic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Health System between January 2005 and June 2012. This cohort received a questionnaire assessing the influences and impact of their reconstructive and cosmetic procedures.A total of 1,214 patients had breast reconstruction, with 113 patients (9.3%) undergoing cosmetic surgery after reconstruction. Of 42 survey respondents, 35 had autologous breast reconstruction (83.3%). Fifty-two cosmetic procedures were performed in survey respondents, including liposuction (26.9%) and facelift (15.4%). The most common reason for pursuing cosmetic surgery was the desire to improve self-image (n = 26, 61.9%), with 29 (69.0%) patients feeling more self-conscious of appearance after reconstruction. Body image satisfaction was significantly higher after cosmetic surgery (P = 0.0081). Interestingly, a multivariate analysis revealed that patients who experienced an improvement in body image after breast reconstruction were more likely to experience a further improvement after a cosmetic procedure (P = 0.031, OR = 17.83). Patients who were interested in cosmetic surgery prior to reconstruction were also more likely to experience an improvement in body image after cosmetic surgery (P = 0.012, OR = 22.63).Cosmetic surgery may improve body image satisfaction of breast reconstruction patients and help to further meet their expectations.