Breast necrosis following harvest of internal mammary artery

The use of internal mammary artery is well established not only in cardiac surgery for coronary artery bypass grafting but also in plastic surgery for breast reconstruction with free autologus tissue. The complications that follow harvest of internal mammary artery for heart surgery usually relate to the wound. This case report documents the first case of complete breast infarction following such a procedure in a patient who had no prior history of breast pathology. The histology of the breast showed extensive calcification of the intima and media of small to medium sized vessels, a condition called calciphylaxis, which is largely unknown outside the fields of nephrology and dermatology.