Abstract P2-13-05: A head to head comparison between SurgiMend® - Fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix and Epiflex® - Decellularized human skin tissue in breast reconstruction in 127 cases

Introduction: The use of acellular dermal matrices (ADM) has become a widely used option in breast reconstruction. A great deal of literature is available, totaling over 2400 ADM reconstructions. Nonetheless, head to head comparisons between SurgiMend® and Epiflex® are not yet reported. In fact, this is the first clinical data report on the use of Epiflex®. This work will therefore compare postoperative complication rates and costs for these ADMs. Methods: This analysis is a retrospective review of a single surgeon's 6-year experience with both SurgiMend® – an acellular bovine dermal collagen matrix for soft-tissue reconstruction and Epiflex® – a decellularized human skin tissue from 2008 to 2013. Results: One hundred patients had a total of 127 implant based reconstructions using SurgiMend® (64 cases; 50.4 %) or Epiflex® (63 cases; 49.6%). Gross complication rates were 11.1 % for SurgiMend® and 40.6 % for Epiflex® including hematoma, postoperative skin irritation, infection, necrosis and revision surgery. The most common complication was postoperative red breast syndrome . Severe complications requiring revision surgery were significantly increased in patients treated with Epiflex® (12.5 %) compared to SurgiMend® (4.8 %). Conclusions: This retrospective analysis favors the use of SurgiMend® over Epiflex® due to significantly lower gross complication rates. Severe complication rates are comparable to those reported in literature for both products. Although results promote the use of SurgiMend®, the single surgeon, retrospective nature of this work limits its clinical impact. Citation Format: Eichler C, Vogt N, Brunnert K, Sauerwald A, Puppe J, Warm M. A head to head comparison between SurgiMend® - Fetal bovine acellular dermal matrix and Epiflex® - Decellularized human skin tissue in breast reconstruction in 127 cases. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2015 Dec 8-12; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-13-05.