Immediate breast reconstruction does not lead to a delay in the delivery of adjuvant chemotherapy

Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) has been considered by some to lead to a delay in the delivery of adjuvant chemotherapy. Our aim was to determine whether IBR led to a delay when compared to conservation surgery and non-reconstructive mastectomy. Ninety-five cases of IBR receiving chemotherapy were reviewed. These were compared to 95 consecutively treated patients undergoing conservation surgery and 95 undergoing non-reconstructive mastectomy. Our data shows that IBR does not lead to a delay in the delivery of adjuvant chemotherapy when compared to standard non-reconstructive surgery and should not adversely affect breast cancer outcome.