ABSTRACT
This prospective, multicentre cohort study aimed to assess the short-term safety of immediate implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR) performed with and without mesh. It included 2,108 women who underwent 2,655 implant-based reconstructions at 81 UK centres between February 2014 and June 2016. Of these, 182 (9%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 8–10) experienced implant loss, 372 (18%, 95% CI = 16–20) required readmission to hospital and 370 (18%, 95% CI = 16–20) required return to theatre for complications within 3 months of their initial surgery. Five hundred and twenty-two patients (25%, 95% CI = 23–27) required treatment for an infection. The authors concluded that these complications were higher than those recommended by national standards and that a clinical trial was required to determine the optimal approach to IBBR.
