Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42176048›Full record

ArticleSurgery today2026

Aesthetic-oriented breast reconstruction: a feasibility study of a novel technique combining Suture-Based Marking Scar Minimising and Axillary-Lateral Thoracic Fat Flap Reconstruction with Tissue Sliding (S-SMARTS).

Hui Ying Khoo, Yoshiaki Sota, Kenzo Shimazu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Surgery today, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Hui Ying KhooDepartment of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.
Yoshiaki SotaDepartment of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan. y_sota123@onsurg.med.osaka-u.ac.jp.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5963-652X
Kenzo ShimazuDepartment of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Breast-conserving surgery with radiotherapy offers outcomes comparable to those of mastectomy. However, margin control and cosmetic results remain challenging, especially for deep or unfavorably located tumors. This study evaluated the S-SMARTS technique (suture-based marking, scar minimizing, and axillary-lateral thoracic fat flap reconstruction with tissue sliding), a hidden-scar, volume displacement method using axillary and lateral thoracic fat flaps. In this single-center retrospective study (Osaka University, Jan 2020-Apr 2025), 44 patients underwent breast-conserving surgery using S-SMARTS. The margin status and cosmetic outcomes (via BCCT.core) were analyzed. Negative margins were achieved in 95.5% of cases on the initial excision and 100% after intraoperative frozen section. The BCCT.core assessment demonstrated that 76.2% of the cases had "Good/Excellent" and 23.8% had "Fair" outcomes. Multivariate analyses were performed to explore any potential predictors of margin positivity. However, no statistically robust predictors were identified. S-SMARTS demonstrates technical feasibility and acceptable early oncologic and aesthetic outcomes in a single-surgeon cohort. Further comparative and multi-institutional studies are warranted to validate its oncologic impact, reproducibility, and patient-reported aesthetic benefits.

Indexed as

Adipose TissueBreast NeoplasmsCicatrixEstheticsMammaplastyMastectomy, SegmentalSurgical FlapsSuture TechniquesAdultAgedAxillaFeasibility StudiesFemaleHumansMargins of ExcisionMiddle AgedBreast-conserving surgeryHidden scar breast surgeryS-SMARTS technique

Identifiers

PMID42176048
PMCPMC13473333

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.