Background
Immediate breast reconstruction (BR) is currently advocated by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence on the basis of improved psychosocial outcomes with benefit of a single operative intervention. Tissue-based procedures are largely preferred due to cosmetic superiority, particularly in the context of postoperative radiotherapy (RT). The impact of this approach on quality of life (QoL), however, has never been fully evaluated. We present a pilot prospective longitudinal study that questions this practice.