ABS ePoster Library

P069
Topic: Breast surgery

Simultaneous bilateral mastectomiesIntroduction: There is an observed increase in the number of simultaneous bilateral mastectomies for small unilateral breast cancer and for risk reduction purpose. We conducted an audit on this cohort of patients treated within our unit in the last 15 years. MethodsA retrospective review of all simultaneous bilateral mastectomies between June 2002 and September 2018 was conducted. Cancer registry, case-notes and histopathological reports were used for data collection. ResultsOne hundred and sixteen patients underwent simultaneous bilateral mastectomies over the study period. All cases were discussed and agreed by the breast MDT. IndicationBilateral simultaneous cancers38Unilateral cancer with gene mutation15Genetic mutation with no cancer9Unilateral cancer42Family or previous history with no gene mutation12Total116Seventy-six out of 95 patients who had surgery for newly diagnosed cancer had a maximum tumour size of less than 40mm. For patients with simultaneous bilateral breast cancers. only 2 cancers were larger than 40mm. Seventeen patients were operated between 2002-2007, 35 patients between 2007-2012, and 64 patients between 2013-2018. Immediate breast reconstruction has increased from 30% in the first 10 years to 73% of mastectomies in the last 5 years. Mean hospital stay decreased from 5.9 to 2.9 days.DiscussionThere is a continued increase in requests for simultaneous bilateral mastectomies, even when not clinically indicated. This has obvious resource implications. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term effects of these operations on physical and psycho-social well-being of this patient cohort.