AB043. SOH26AB_0211. Sensory preservation after robotic mastectomy: correlation of clinical data with cadaveric anatomical dissection
Clinical Breast Session

AB043. SOH26AB_0211. Sensory preservation after robotic mastectomy: correlation of clinical data with cadaveric anatomical dissection

Gerard Hill1,2, Trudi Roche1,2, Hunter Holley1,2, Gordon Daly1,2, Gavin Dowling1,2,3,4, Laura Fleming1,2,3,4, Ali Benour1,2,3,4, Fabio Quondamatteo1,2,3,4, Arnold Hill1,2,3,4

1University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; 2Cancer Centre, Beaumont Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; 3Department of Surgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; 4Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

Background: Robotic mastectomy has been proposed as a technique that may improve preservation of skin and nipple-areolar complex sensation compared with conventional surgery. This study aimed to examine sensory preservation after robotic mastectomy.

Methods: We prospectively evaluated nine patients undergoing robotic mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. Objective sensory testing was performed using graded stimuli across four thresholds (300, 4, 0.4, and 0.07) at 3 and 6 months postoperatively. To correlate clinical findings with anatomical pathways, cadaveric dissections of four breasts were performed.

Results: Cadaveric analysis demonstrated that the lateral intercostal nerves traversed the parenchyma of the breast and were necessarily divided during mastectomy. In contrast, medial intercostal nerves were found to course superficially, immediately deep to the dermis, allowing potential preservation during robotic surgery. Clinically, preservation of medial breast skin sensation at 3 months was observed in seven of nine patients, whereas all patients demonstrated complete loss of sensation in the lateral breast.

Conclusions: Robotic mastectomy permits preservation of medial breast skin sensation due to the superficial course of medial intercostal nerves. However, preservation of lateral breast sensation is not possible for anatomical reasons, as the lateral intercostal nerves are transected during mastectomy.

Keywords: Robotic; mastectomy; sensory; preservation; cadaveric

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-26-ab043
Cite this abstract as: Hill G, Roche T, Holley H, Daly G, Dowling G, Fleming L, Benour A, Quondamatteo F, Hill A. AB043. SOH26AB_0211. Sensory preservation after robotic mastectomy: correlation of clinical data with cadaveric anatomical dissection. Mesentery Peritoneum 2026;10:AB043.

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