New Concepts in Circumareolar Mastopexy: The "Star Interlocking Suture"-A Case Series.

Abstract

The circumareolar approach is one of the most popular and versatile in breast surgeries. Nevertheless, this approach usually implies a closure under tension which could lead to areolar distortion, scar widening and hypertrophic scarring. To prevent these complications, different surgical adjustments to this technique have been proposed, such as the Hammond's "Interlocking Gore-Tex suture." Here, we propose a modification of the Hammond interlocking suture, the "Star Interlocking Suture." Between 2019 and 2023, the "Star Interlocking Suture" was used in 19 patients undergoing breast surgery with circumareolar approach. 3-0 Ethibond suture (Ethibond Excel; Ethicon, US LLC) was used for suturing. All 19 patients showed good results in terms of areolar scar appearance and diameter stability during a mean follow-up period of 12 months. No infections, skin fistulas or suture extrusion were observed. All patients were satisfied with the appearance of their areola and the suture material, green colored, was not visible. Only one patient did report palpability of the suture's knot.Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .