The Bikini Inset: a reliable method for postradiation breast reconstruction with transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous and free abdominal tissue transfer.

Abstract

The combination of radiation and mastectomy reduces the 3-dimensional topography of the breast into a relatively inelastic, 2-dimensional plane. This environment presents specific challenges to aesthetic breast reconstruction with autologous tissue transfer, and a relative sparsity of information exists in the surgical literature on how to address these challenges. Accordingly, this article details a formalized and reproducible approach for flap inset in postradiation breast reconstruction. We outline a novel technique for optimizing the recipient bed and present a sequential flow for contouring the autologous abdominal flap, so that it recreates the individual subunits of an aesthetic breast.