Poland's breast reconstruction with decellularized human dermal allograft

The eponym of Poland's syndrome is given to a condition described by Sir Alfred Poland in 1941. The condition is characterized by a myriad of anomalies of the chest wall with multiple theories of its etiology. Usually, the patient that presents to the reconstructive breast surgeon is a female with some degree of abnormal development of her affected ipsilateral breast. Numerous options of breast reconstruction have been described in the literature for patients with Poland's breast anomalies. These include the use of autologous tissue, prosthetic material, or a combination of both. The use of dermal allograft for breast reconstruction in breast cancer has become extremely helpful and prevalent. Currently, the use of dermal allograft with the aid of the pectoralis major muscle is one of the most common techniques for breast reconstruction. However, with the absence of the pectoralis major muscle as is in the case of Poland's syndrome the utility of this technique is unknown. In this article the author describes the case of a patient with severe breast hypoplasia secondary to Poland's syndrome and the successful use of decellularized human dermal allograft only and a tissue expander, followed by postoperative adjustable mammary prosthesis.