Montclair Breast Center

Mastectomy; Researchers at Osaka University, Medical Department have published new data on mastectomy

13 August 2008

2008 AUG 13 - (NewsRx.com) -- "With the recent advances in oncologic breast surgery breast reconstruction with the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous (LDM) flap without an implant has become a good option among other autologous tissue reconstructions available. However, only a few large-scale studies have so far evaluated the critical factors affecting its esthetic outcomes," scientists in Suita, Japan report.

"We retrospectively reviewed 97 consecutive patients who underwent breast reconstruction with the LDM flap between 2001 and 2005 at our institution. The esthetic outcome in comparison with the normal breast was evaluated by means of observer assessment consisting of 7 criteria. A stratified analysis was performed to determine the factors affecting the esthetic outcomes after the breast-conservative surgery and skin-sparing mastectomy. We found that reconstruction of the lower half of the breast and exposure of the skin paddle resulted in poor esthetic outcomes after breast-conservative surgery. Large preoperative brassiere cup size, radiation history, axillary node dissection, and exposure of the skin paddle were the factors which negatively affected the overall outcomes after skin-sparing mastectomy. Age, body mass index, presence of nipple areola-complex defect, or design of skin paddle did not affect the esthetic outcomes. On the basis of these critical factors, we could determine the indications and limitations of breast reconstruction with LDM flap," wrote K. Tomita and colleagues, Osaka University, Medical Department.

The researchers concluded: "In some cases, further technical modifications are still warranted, and we believe that these modifications will optimize the use of this flap in breast reconstruction."

Tomita and colleagues published their study in Annals of Plastic Surgery (Esthetic outcome of immediate reconstruction with latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap after breast-conservative surgery and skin-sparing mastectomy. Annals of Plastic Surgery, 2008;61(1):19-23).

For more information, contact K. Yano, Osaka University, Graduate School Medical, Dept. of Plast & Reconstruct Surgery, 2-2 C11 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 5650871, Japan.

Publisher contact information for the journal Annals of Plastic Surgery is: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 530 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106-3621, USA.

Breast Cancer; Scientists at Chang-Gung University detail research in breast cancer

20 August 2008

2008 AUG 20 - (NewsRx.com) -- Research findings, 'Ultrasound breast tumor image computer-aided diagnosis with texture and morphological features,' are discussed in a new report. According to recent research from Taiwan, "Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems based on shape analysis have been proved to be highly accurate in evaluating breast tumors. However, it takes considerable time to train the classifier and diagnose breast tumors, because extracting morphologic features require a lot of computation."

"Hence, to develop a highly accurate and quick CAD system, we combined the texture and morphologic features of ultrasound breast tumor imaging to evaluate breast tumors in this study. This study evaluated 210 ultrasound breast tumor images, including 120 benign tumors and 90 malignant tumors. The breast tumors were segmented automatically by the level set method. The autocovariance texture features and solidity morphologic feature were extracted, and a support vector machine was used to identify the tumor as benign or malignant. The accuracy of the proposed diagnostic system for classifying breast tumors was 92.86%, the sensitivity was 94.44%, the specificity was 91.67%, the positive predictive value was 89.47%, and the negative predictive value was 95.65%. In addition, the proposed system reduced the training time compared to systems based only on the morphologic analysis. The CAD system based on texture and morphologic analysis can differentiate benign from malignant breast tumors with high accuracy and short training time," wrote W.J. Wu and colleagues, Chang-Gung University.

The researchers concluded: "It is therefore clinically useful to reduce the number of biopsies of benign lesions and offer a second reading to assist inexperienced physicians in avoiding misdiagnosis."

Wu and colleagues published their study in Academic Radiology (Ultrasound breast tumor image computer-aided diagnosis with texture and morphological features. Academic Radiology, 2008;15(7):873-80).

For additional information, contact W.J. Wu, Chang Gung University, Dept. of Information Management, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan 333, Taiwan.

Publisher contact information for the journal Academic Radiology is: Association University Radiologists, 820 Jorie Blvd., Oak Brook, IL 60523-2251, USA.

Surgery; Study results from O.M. Tepper et al provide new insights into surgery

30 July 2008

2008 JUL 30 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to recent research published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, "Three-dimensional photography of the breast offers new opportunities to advance the fields of aesthetic and reconstructive breast surgery. The following study investigates the use of three-dimensional imaging to assess changes in breast surface anatomy, volume, tissue distribution, and projection following medial pedicle reduction mammaplasty."
"Preoperative and postoperative three-dimensional scans were obtained from patients undergoing short-scar medial pedicle breast reduction. Three-dimensional models were analyzed by topographical color maps, changes in the lowest point of the breast, surface measurements, and the point of maximal projection. Total breast volume and percentage volumetric tissue distribution in the upper and lower poles were also determined. Thirty patients underwent reduction mammaplasty (mean postoperative scan, 80 +/- 5 days). Color maps highlighted the majority of spatial changes in the central, upper poles. Reduction mammaplasty resulted in a significant decrease in the anteroposterior projection of the breast (6.3 +/- 0.2 postoperatively compared with 8.1 +/- 0.2 cm preoperatively; p< 0.01). The point of maximal breast projection was elevated in the cranial-caudal direction (4.8 0.4 cm; p< 0.01), with a corresponding elevation in the lowest point of the breast (4.8 +/- 0.5 cm; p< 0.01). Volumetric three-dimensional measurements identified a significant change in percentage tissue distribution after reduction mammaplasty (45 +/- 2 percent above the inframammary fold preoperatively versus 76 +/-2 percent postoperatively; p< 0.01). This study is the first to demonstrate the technical feasibility and clinical utility of three-dimensional geometric data in medial pedicle breast reduction surgery," wrote O.M. Tepper and colleagues.

The researchers concluded: "This novel approach suggests new opportunities to define long-term operative changes following various breast procedures."

Tepper and colleagues published their study in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (An innovative three-dimensional approach to defining the anatomical changes occurring after short scar-medial pedicle reduction mammaplasty. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2008;121(6):1875-1885).

For additional information, contact N.S. Karp, 305 East 47th St., Suite 1A, New York City, NY 10017, USA.

The publisher's contact information for the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 530 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106-3621, USA.