Impact of Animation Deformity on Patient-Reported Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: A Subpectoral vs. Prepectoral Planes Comparison

The ideal plane for implant-based breast reconstruction (IBR) has gained increased attention as prepectoral reconstruction became popularized to avoid animation deformity (AD) typically associated with subpectoral (SP) reconstruction. Prepectoral (PP) IBR is limited by mastectomy flap quality with limited and/or inconclusive data on the impact on surgical and patient-reported outcomes (PRO)1,2,3, including specifically the effect of AD on overall breast reconstruction satisfaction.  This study aims to investigate the role of AD on overall patient satisfaction by comparing patient-reported outcomes (PRO) between two-stage prepectoral vs. subpectoral reconstruction.