Submuscular breast reconstruction--indications and techniques.

We review the care and treatment of 93 patients who underwent submuscular breast reconstruction in our service between 1975 and 1980. The indications and clinical situations in which submuscular reconstruction has been useful include: following simple mastectomy; following modified radical mastectomy; following subcutaneous mastectomy (immediate or delayed reconstruction); in standard augmentation mammaplasty in selected patients; and with unusual, unsatisfactory, or dangerous preexisting breast conditions. Unusual indications include unsatisfactory subcutaneous placement with capsule formation after subcutaneous mastectomy; use of unsatisfactory or dangerous implants such as Ivalon and Etheron; and replacement of the old-fashioned Cronin gel implants with fixation patches. Submuscular placement has also been used to advantage in patients with excessively scarred, tenuous skin. Technical modifications in the submuscular implantation technique are detailed. We have used subserratus-subpectoral placement in most instances. Technical tips to keep the implant in a low position by division of the serratus attachments and limitations of upward dissection are detailed. Clinical studies on the upward migration of implants and pressures developed under the serratus and pectoralis muscles as measured by manometer are also detailed.