Toilet mastectomy: 12 year-experience of a high-volume breast surgery center

Aim: Breast cancer is a global public health problem, and the life-saving effect of early diagnosis and treatment is evident. This study aimed to present the clinicopathological features of patients who underwent toilet mastectomy for metastatic breast cancer.Material and Methods: Files of patients who underwent toilet mastectomy for metastatic breast cancer in a high-volume breast surgery center between January 2011 and January 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. Clinicopathological data of the patients were gathered and presented.Results: Of the 32 patients who met the study criteria, 31 (96.9%) were female, and the mean age was 60 (33-85) years. There was involvement in the left breast in 19 (59.3%) patients and in the right breast in 13 (40.7%). Indications for surgery were ulceration in 13 (40.6%) patients, infection in 11 (34.4%) patients, and bleeding in 8 (25%) patients. Twenty-four (75%) of the defects were closed primarily, 6 (18.8%) with a skin graft and 2 (6.2%) with an advancement flap. Morbidity and mortality rates of the study were 37.5% (n=12) and 3.2% (n=1), respectively, and the most common postoperative complication was bleeding at the surgical site (n=5; 15.6%).Discussion: In the presence of an overgrowth of tumor tissue, chest wall invasion, ulceration of the breast skin, discharge or bleeding, toilet mastectomy performed without adhering to oncological principles is aimed at reducing the tumor burden and increasing the quality of breast cancer.