Anatomical variations of the subscapular pedicle and its terminal branches: an anatomical study and a reappraisal in the light of current surgical approaches

While anatomical variations of the subscapular vessels are frequently encountered during axillary dissection, little is found in the literature. The aim of this cadaveric study was to define arterial and venous anatomical variations and frequencies of the subscapular vascular pedicle and its terminal/afferent vessels in women. We performed 80 dissections of the axillary region on forty female formalin-embalmed cadavers. Each anatomical arrangement was photographed and recorded on a scheme before analysis. We propose a new classification of the subscapular pedicle variations. We observed three types of subscapular arterial variation. The type Ia was the most frequent arrangement (71% of our dissections), the type Ib was observed in 11% and the type II in 18% of cases. We observed four types of subscapular venous variation. The type Ia was observed in 63% of cases, the type Ib in 14%, the type II in 14% and the type III in 10% of cases. This knowledge of the anatomical variation arrangement and frequencies of the subscapular vascular pedicle will assist the surgeon when dissecting the axillary region for malignant or reconstructive procedures.