Exploring the Effect of Post-mastectomy complications on 5-year survival.

Background: Ramifications of postoperative complications on long-term survival after mastectomy are uncertain.
Methods: Overall complications (Clavien-Dindo Grades I-IIIB) and wound complications were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method for impact on 5-year overall (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
Results: A total of 378 patients underwent mastectomy alone (157, 41%) or mastectomy with reconstruction (221, 59%) for Stage I-III disease with a median follow-up of 5 years. Postoperative complications occurred in 186 patients (49%), requiring non-surgical (I/II = 83, 22%) or surgical (IIIa/IIIb = 103, 27%) management. Wound complications occurred in 140 patients (37%). Reconstruction was associated with a higher rate of complication (P < 0.001). Postoperative complications after mastectomy (with or without reconstruction) did not significantly affect OS or DFS. Wound complications also showed no significant effect on OS or DFS following mastectomy alone, or mastectomy with reconstruction.
Conclusions: Postoperative complications after mastectomy, with or without reconstruction, bear no significant impact on 5-year survival.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no financial or commercial conflicts of interest to disclose.
(Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Inc.)