Science AI Journal
Medicine · Research topic

Open research questions in Breast Implant and Reconstruction

381 gap statements mined from Breast Implant and Reconstruction papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,924 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

Choosing where to publish on Breast Implant and Reconstruction? See the ranked Medicine journals.

What the literature leaves open

  • Limited data regarding the impact of aromatase inhibitors on surgical outcomes. Lack of quality evidence to directly compare implant exchange prior to and after postmastectomy radiation therapy. Limited evidence on perioperative management of systemic therapies.

    Current Therapies for Breast Cancer: What the Plastic Surgeon Needs to Know · 2026 · DOI

  • The need to replace the NPWT device with the conventional low-pressure continuous suction system on POD 10 to collect data on daily drainage volume. The challenge of promoting early subcutaneous adhesion to prevent seroma formation.

    Does Suction Strategy Using a Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy System at the Extended Latissimus Dorsi Flap Donor Site After Breast Reconstruction Contribute to a Reduction in Seroma Formation? · 2026 · DOI

  • The lack of a direct measure of material properties in the assessment of peri-implant capsular formation. The need for a more meaningful parameter to compare peri-implant tissue quality across patients.

    Elasticity per Thickness Index for Breast Sonoelastography: Quantitative Analysis of Implant- and Clinically Related Peri-Implant Capsular Formation · 2026 · DOI

  • These materials differ in composition, degradation profile, and structure, and their potential influence on residual tumor cell behavior remains incompletely understood.

    Comparative Effects of Biomaterials Used in Breast Surgery on Tumor Engraftment and Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells in a Murine In Vivo Model · 2026 · DOI

  • Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) are increasingly used for glycemic control and weight loss, but their impact on surgical wound complications remains unclear.

    GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use and Wound Outcomes After Free Flap Breast Reconstruction · 2026 · DOI

  • Patient satisfaction with preoperative information is a strong predictor of postoperative satisfaction, but it remains unclear how patient and surgeon perspectives differ regarding the quality and availability of educational resources and which areas of education most need improvement.

    Gaps in Breast Reconstruction Patient Educational Resources: Comparing Patient and Surgeon Perspectives · 2026 · DOI

  • While enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) and awake monitored anaesthesia care (MAC) have been described to promote same-day discharge (SDD) in conventional mastectomy, their application in reverse-sequence endoscopic nipple-sparing mastectomy (R-E-NSM) has not yet been established.

    Awake endoscopic mastectomy in one-day-surgery: Preliminary results · 2026 · DOI

  • Optimal implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR) for patients requiring postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) after prepectoral reconstruction remains unclear.

    Complications and patient-reported outcomes in breast cancer patients undergoing prepectoral implant-based breast reconstruction: direct-to-implant versus tissue expander-to-implant followed by postmastectomy radiation therapy · 2026 · DOI

  • It is unlikely that both views are correct and such a division in opinion is possibly driven by the lack of data on outcomes after delayed versus immediate symmetrization.

    Symmetrization in therapeutic mammoplasty for breast cancer: si non nunc quandro · 2025 · DOI

  • Clinical data suggests that the tissue type in contact with silicone breast implants alters susceptibility to developing capsular contracture; however, the tissue-specific inflammatory and fibrotic characteristics of capsule have not been well characterized at the cellular and molecular level.

    The cellular and molecular properties of capsule surrounding silicone implants in humans vary uniquely according to the tissue type adjacent to the implant · 2024 · DOI

  • The prevalence of obesity in the United States exceeds 40%, yet perioperative effects of higher body mass index (BMI) in autologous breast reconstruction remain poorly studied.

    The Effects of Body Mass Index on Postoperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Autologous Free Flap Breast Reconstruction · 2024 · DOI

  • Further investigation as to the causes of such variation is warranted in larger, more diverse cohorts.

    Social Determinants of Health and Patient-reported Outcomes Following Autologous Breast Reconstruction, Using Insurance as a Proxy · 2024 · DOI

  • Hybrid deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap and simultaneous silicone implant breast reconstruction procedures (“DIEP + I”) have many conceptual advantages compared with either reconstruction method alone, but the outcomes of DIEP + I reconstruction have not yet been well studied.

    Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap with Implant Placement has a Favorable Complication Profile Compared with Implant-Only or Flap-Only Reconstruction · 2024 · DOI

  • However, access to neurotization for DIEP reconstruction patients has not been evaluated.

    Accessibility of Neurotization in Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Reconstruction: Inequities and Implications for Preauthorization · 2024 · DOI

  • To date, we have conflicting evidence regarding the histocompatibility between the SBI and its environment, as well as its exact pathomechanism on immune homeostasis.

    Severe cardiovascular manifestation of ASIA syndrome triggered by silicone breast implants · 2024 · DOI

  • Severe, life-threatening manifestations of ASIA may occur occasionally after exposure to an adjuvant, however severe circulatory failure has not been reported so far [6]⁠.

    Severe cardiovascular manifestation of ASIA syndrome triggered by silicone breast implants · 2024 · DOI

  • Oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery may be a better option than mastectomy, but high-quality comparative evidence is lacking.

    Clinical and patient-reported outcomes in women offered oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery as an alternative to mastectomy: ANTHEM multicentre prospective cohort study · 2024 · DOI

  • This study provides international expert insight into the lack of consensus on surgical outcomes, efficacy and evidence-base supporting the use of ADMs in pre-pectoral IBBR.

    254 Establishing Equipoise: Does the Use of Acellular Dermal Matrices (ADM) in Women Undergoing Pre-Pectoral Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction Increase Operative Success Versus Non-Use of ADM in the Same Setting? · 2024 · DOI

  • Limited evidence on the use of AI, 3D scanning, and AR in breast surgery. Complexity of breast anatomy and the need for accurate, longitudinal evaluation of breast remodeling.

    Artificial intelligence in breast reduction surgery: a review of preoperative planning, intraoperative assessment and postoperative outcome prediction · 2026 · DOI

  • The current evidence remains largely preliminary and fragmented. Most published investigations are limited to feasibility analyses, case series, or small-sample pilot trials. The lack of large-scale, prospective, multicenter validation restricts the generalizability of existing findings.

    Artificial intelligence in breast reduction surgery: a review of preoperative planning, intraoperative assessment and postoperative outcome prediction · 2026 · DOI

  • This systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that therapeutic ultrasound, when used as an adjunct to conventional therapy, may be associated with a reduction in breast engorgement severity; however, the magnitude and reliability of this effect remain uncertain. Evidence for pain reduction remains inconclusive, with substantial variability and imprecision across studies.

    Clinical Effectiveness and Safety of Therapeutic Ultrasound for Breast Engorgement in Lactating Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis · 2026 · DOI

  • The study is limited by its retrospective design and monocentric setting. The sample size, although large, may not be representative of all patient populations. The study does not provide long-term follow-up data on the reconstructed breasts.

    Immediate Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction: Analysis of 787 Cases and Definition of Our Decision-Making Algorithm · 2026 · DOI

  • There are few studies on the adverse effects and potential risks associated with simultaneous microsurgical breast reconstruction and neurotization procedures.

    Complications and Donor Site Morbidity in Harvesting the Intercostal Main Nerve as a Graft for Breast Neurotization in Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction · 2025 · DOI

  • While previous research has investigated factors influencing patient satisfaction following breast reconstruction, there are few studies on how patient satisfaction is impacted by revision procedures.

    Effects of Elective Revision after Breast Reconstruction on Patient-Reported Outcomes · 2024 · DOI

  • Validation of the ETI against histopathological findings, clinically significant Baker grades, or independent biomechanical measures.

    Elasticity per Thickness Index for Breast Sonoelastography: Quantitative Analysis of Implant- and Clinically Related Peri-Implant Capsular Formation · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Breast Implant and Reconstruction

Most recent work

Find a gap in your own Breast Implant and Reconstruction sub-topic

This page shows what the Breast Implant and Reconstruction literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, search the Research Gap Finder: the search is free with a free account and lists the papers closest to your topic first. Unlocking that topic (50 credits, charged once) fills the comparison table from our 7.9M-paper local library and writes the gaps from its rows.

Open the Research Gap Finder →

Related topics in Medicine

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education
4,200 open questions
Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
2,789 open questions
Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
2,285 open questions
Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
2,273 open questions
Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
2,102 open questions
Sports Performance and Training
1,952 open questions
Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
1,915 open questions
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
1,849 open questions
Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) Lack of quality evidence to directly compare implant exchange prior to and after postmastectomy radiation therapy (“Current Therapies for Breast Cancer: What the Plastic Surgeon Needs to Know”, 2026); (2) The lack of a direct measure of material properties in the assessment of peri-implant capsular formation (“Elasticity per Thickness Index for Breast Sonoelastography: Quantitative…”, 2026); (3) These materials differ in composition, degradation profile, and structure, and their potential influence on residual tumor cell behavior remains incompletely understood (“Comparative Effects of Biomaterials Used in Breast Surgery on Tumor Engraftment…”, 2026); (4) Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s) are increasingly used for glycemic control and weight loss, but their impact on surgical wound complications remains unclear (“GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use and Wound Outcomes After Free Flap Breast…”, 2026); (5) Optimal implant-based breast reconstruction (IBBR) for patients requiring postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) after prepectoral reconstruction remains unclear (“Complications and patient-reported outcomes in breast cancer patients…”, 2026). 381 gap statements have been mined from Breast Implant and Reconstruction papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 1,924 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

Tools for your next paper

Gaps & Literature SearchFind open questions in any field — 1,100,000+ open gaps mined from our own library.Pre-CheckIs your paper ready? Acceptance odds for top, mid and open/emerging journals, in seconds.Journal FinderA ranked shortlist of target journals from a 17,500-venue index.Duplicate Publication CheckerCheck for prior publication across 7 sources and our local library.Citation GeneratorFreeA DOI or title → APA, MLA, Vancouver, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS. No signup.Graphical Abstract MakerFreeTurn your findings into a colorblind-safe graphical abstract.

How Pre-Check worksHow AI Review works

Compare the category — Honest roundups of the AI research tools, ours listed alongside the alternatives.

Command palette

Jump anywhere, run any action.