{
  "abstract": "Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common postoperative outcome of free flap surgery in breast reconstruction post-mastectomy. Various approaches to limiting IRI have been investigated. The purpose of this review is to evaluate studies that compare ischemia-reducing therapies in breast reconstruction patients. PubMed and Embase databases were screened using a search algorithm. Patient demographics and study details, including ischemia-reducing intervention agents and postoperative outcomes, such as flap loss, thrombosis, systemic response, and vascular response, were extracted for evaluation. Ten studies were included in this review, with data on 1178 flaps in 935 female patients. Postoperative infusion of IV arginine resulted in greater blood flow to the distal flap (p = 0.04). Intervention with IV methylprednisolone yielded significantly reduced rates of partial flap necrosis (PFN) (p = 0.009), significantly decreased postoperative levels of IL-1β (p = 0.0004), IL-10 (p = 0.00044), and TNF (p = 0.00011), and shorter length of hospital stay (p = 0.00001). Many adjunctive therapies are associated with lower rates of IRI in breast reconstruction post-mastectomy. Of these therapies, postoperative IV arginine resulted in greater blood flow to the distal flap, while perioperative IV methylprednisolone resulted in a significant reduction in PFN and other markers of IRI. Future studies should focus on the effects of steroid and/or vasodilator administration on IRI and seek to establish lasting protective effects.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Research, California Northstate University College of Medicine, Elk Grove, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "review article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Marina M Georgies"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Iyawnna Hazzard"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Manya Bali"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ethan A Tabaie"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jose Puglisi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Eldo Frezza"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8c4vx206rjcbk.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.7759/cureus.117393",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13726743/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "8c4vx206rjcbk",
  "issns": [
    "2168-8184"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13726743",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "General Surgery"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Plastic Surgery"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2746|Breast Implant and Reconstruction"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7218572270",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13726743/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13726743",
  "pmid": "42974229",
  "published": "2026-10-03",
  "publisher": "Cureus Inc.",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8c4vx206rjcbk.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T15:20:51Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13726743",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13726743"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-04T15:20:49Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42974229",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974229"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T12:23:01Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13726743",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.117393"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2746|Breast Implant and Reconstruction",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Adjunctive Treatments Reduce Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy: A Systematic Review",
  "title_text": "Adjunctive Treatments Reduce Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Breast Reconstruction After Mastectomy: A Systematic Review",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-06T12:22:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8c4vx206rjcbk",
  "venue": "Cureus",
  "versions": []
}