Abstract: 【Abstract】Objective: To observe the clinical effects of transverse rectus abdominis myocutaneous (TRAM) breast reconstruction after the breast cancer operation and to estimate the timing of TRAM breast reconstruction after the breast cancer operation. Method: In our study, 78 patients with stage Ⅰ or stageⅡ breast cancer were involved. The population was stratified into two groups: group 1, immediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy (n = 46 patients); and group 2, breast reconstruction within 6-12 months after surgery (n = 32 patients). Outcomes of both groups were evaluated including satisfaction, hospital stay, postoperative complications and so on. Result: There was a statistic significance(P＜0.05) between two groups with regard to appearance satisfaction, hospital stay and average cost of treatment; While the postoperative complications, survival of patients after postoperative 2 years and 5 years were similar in both groups。 Conclusion: Our outcomes implied that immediate TRAM breast reconstruction after mastectomy is a reliable and safe technique with high patient satisfaction, short hospital stay, shrinkage of the cost, low complication rates and similar survival rate.

Key words: Breast cancer, TRAM, Breast reconstruction, Operation time