Background and Objective:

In Plastic Surgery is appropriated a preoperative planning and the knowledge of the anatomical variability of perforating vessels of the breast, that along with the changes caused by previous surgery, may cause that to have a reliable preoperative localization of the vessels be extremely useful to choose the best surgical technique to be used.

The aim of the present research is to determine if the 3D mammography/tomosynthesis is the best method for determination of vascular pattern of the nipple-areola complex (NAC) in secondary breast surgery: augmentation, reduction mammoplasty and with or without implants mastopexy, in order to avoid NAC vascular complications, and in this way, to select the best access to secondary surgery.

Methods:

We conduct a prospective, longitudinal and descriptive clinical study, with a sample consisted of 31 healthy female patients with previous breast surgery to whom 3 dimensional mammography (tomosyn-thesis) was performed to determine the mammary vascular pattern.

Results:

The dominant vascular patterns were superior (58.06%), the scars founded were mostly periareolar (48.3%) and the performed secondary surgeries, depending on the vascular pattern reported in the tomosynthesis, were superior pedicles (87%).The scars did not indicate the vascular pattern used in the previous surgery. NAC necrosis was not reported.

Conclusions:

The use of tomosynthesis imaging method in the preoperative evaluation of vascularization in secondary mammoplasty represents an useful tool for surgical planification as it offers a real and exact information, what leads to avoid vascular complications such as NAC necrosis, guaranteeing a safe surgery.

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