Severe skin necrosis after breast reconstruction with a transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency

What Researchers Did

Researchers reported a case of unexpected severe skin necrosis following autologous transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap breast reconstruction in a patient with a specific genetic deficiency.

What They Found

They found that a 46-year-old woman developed extensive abdominal skin necrosis and partial flap necrosis on the reconstructed breast by the 5th postoperative day after TRAM flap surgery. This patient was homozygous for the 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, a deficiency hypothesized to be the cause of the severe necrosis.

Canadian Relevance

This case report has no direct Canadian connection.

Study Limitations

As a case report, the findings are limited to a single patient and may not be generalizable to a broader population.