Vanderbilt Mini-PROM-Breast for Breast Reconstruction: A Short-Form, Patient-Reported Outcomes Measure

Abstract

Background: Breast reconstruction procedures are among the most commonly performed plastic surgery operations. Although there are well-validated patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) for breast reconstruction, there are several patient-, provider-, and service-level barriers to their implementation in routine clinical settings. Therefore, we developed a short-form PROM to evaluate breast reconstruction outcomes.

Methods: Using a mixed-methods approach, the Vanderbilt Mini-PROM-Breast (VMP-B) was constructed and validated to assess patient-reported outcomes from breast reconstruction. Classic test theory methods were used to evaluate acceptability, reliability, and validity. External validation was subsequently performed using the BREAST-Q as a reference standard.

Results: The VMP-B is a 16-item instrument composed of three domains: quality of life, body image, and breast satisfaction. Psychometric properties including acceptability, reliability, and validity exceeded reference criteria. When tested with 104 patients, the authors found significant benefits of breast reconstruction on quality of life, body image, and breast satisfaction. These results were associated with sizeable effect sizes (g) (g = 0.421, g = 0.520, and g = 1.25) demonstrative of clinically meaningful results. When tested concurrently in 70 patients, the VMP-B and the BREAST-Q showed similar results, exhibiting excellent convergent validity.

Conclusions: The VMP-B is a validated short-form PROM that reliably assesses breast reconstruction outcomes. As a short form, the VMP-B decreases both patient and provider burden, which allows for routine, point-of-care collection of breast reconstruction outcomes.