The Association of VA SurgeonsEffective breast reconstruction in female veterans
Section snippets
Methods
This study was reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, TX). All female breast cancer patients between January 1997 and December 2008 were identified using the MEDVAMC tumor registry database. All records were retrospectively reviewed. Demographics, tumor stage, oncologic surgical procedures, and chemoradiation therapy were reviewed. Patients who were referred to the MEDVAMC plastic
Oncologic treatment
Eighty-two female patients were diagnosed with breast cancer during the study period. Two patients had stage IV disease and were considered poor candidates for reconstruction. Of the remainder, 38 patients (46%) underwent mastectomy procedures (simple, subcutaneous, or modified radical mastectomy). Thirty-five patients (43%) had BCT (lumpectomy or segmental mastectomy). Nine patients (11%) had their surgical resection performed at outside hospitals and were not referred to the plastic surgery
Comments
Since its inception, the Veterans Health Administration has served a predominantly male population. The number of female veterans, although small, has steadily increased during the past few decades. It has been projected that women will account for 10% of the veteran population by 2020.2 Indeed, 12% of the enlisted military personnel during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom were women.2 This trend will lead to a proportional increase in the number of women who will be
Conclusions
Breast reconstruction, including autologous free tissue transfer, can be effectively performed within the VA system with acceptable complications and good outcomes. As the number of female veterans seeking health care at the VA hospitals increases, the number of these veterans requiring care for their breast cancer will increase. In this study, we examined breast reconstruction at the local and regional levels, but as the number of female veterans requiring care increases, it will be necessary
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Cited by (2)
An Evidence Map of the Women Veterans’ Health Research Literature (2008–2015)
2017, Journal of General Internal MedicineImproving care of chronic conditions for women veterans: Identifying opportunities for comparative effectiveness research
2014, Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research