Comparison of two different types of oxidized regenerated cellulose for partial breast defects

Background A defect after partial mastectomy, sometimes, is hard to be filled with patient's own breast tissue. Two different types of oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) for filling of partial defects in small-sized breasts were compared with respect to clinicopathologic factors and outcomes. Methods A total of 45 patients with breast cancer underwent conventional partial mastectomy with insertion of an ORC filling material. The two filling materials used were a hemostasis-purposed ORC and adhesion barrier–purposed ORC. Clinical factors were compared between these two ORC materials. Both the surgeon and patient assessed the cosmetic outcomes using the Harvard/NSABP/RTOG Breast Cosmesis Grading Scale. Results Partial mastectomy with filling material insertion technique was not inferior to partial mastectomy–only technique in many clinical aspects. And most of the clinicopathologic factors showed no significant difference between the two groups. However, the mean operation time was significantly shorter in the hemostasis-purposed ORC group (P = 0.027). In addition, the infection rate was significantly higher in the adhesion barrier–purposed ORC group (P = 0.040). Conclusions Reconstructive surgery using a hemostasis-purposed ORC was associated with a shorter operation time and lower incidence of postoperative infection than that using an adhesion barrier–purposed ORC. However, both types of ORC were feasible as filling compounds for partial defects of the breast.