Skin banking: treatment option for native skin necrosis following skin-sparing mastectomy and previous breast irradiation.

Abstract

Skin flap necrosis, as well as positive resection margins in the context of skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction, may require reoperation, potentially associated with tissue loss, and thereby impair the aesthetic result. Skin banking has recently been described as a method for handling skin flaps of uncertain viability. Here, we describe the advantages of skin banking in previously irradiated patients with breast cancer recurrence, which underwent skin-sparing mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction. Aside from its utility in the management of skin necrosis, we present this method as an option to conserve the native breast shape in patients with questionable total resection during surgery.