Distant Volume Flaps for Conservative Surgery

We describe the background to the use of distant volume replacement flaps after breast-conserving surgery. We consider patient selection, surgical technique, (including planning and patient positioning), incision placement and operative technique and also describe the literature on oncological and cosmetic outcomes and complications. The literature in this area is rather sparse and more work is needed to confirm the relevant place of the different types of flap and to directly compare objective outcome and patient satisfaction with the alternative, namely mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction.