Patient-reported outcomes after breast reconstructive surgery: A prospective cross-sectional study

Salem Mohammad Alshammari; Mohammed Yousef Aldossary; Khaled Almutairi; Abdulaziz Almulhim; Gousay Alkhazmari; Mohammed Alyaqout; Hussain Abrar

doi:10.1016/j.amsu.2019.02.002

Patient-reported outcomes after breast reconstructive surgery: A prospective cross-sectional study

Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2019 Feb 16:39:22-25. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2019.02.002. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Authors

Salem Mohammad Alshammari¹, Mohammed Yousef Aldossary¹, Khaled Almutairi¹, Abdulaziz Almulhim¹, Gousay Alkhazmari¹, Mohammed Alyaqout¹, Hussain Abrar¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of General Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit, King Fahad Specialist Hospital, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: With advancements in and the evolution of the medical field, several methods and surgical techniques have been developed for breast reconstruction after mastectomy. Generally, we can categorize these strategies into two broad groups: autologous reconstruction and implant-based reconstruction. This study aimed to analyze the satisfaction rate between these groups, considering age, timing of breast reconstruction, body mass index (BMI), major complications, and the need for radiotherapy or chemotherapy.

Materials and methods: All the patients who underwent a mastectomy and subsequent breast reconstruction surgery at our institution between August 1, 2013, and August 31, 2017, were invited to complete a BREAST-Q questionnaire. To compare the quality of life and complication rate between the autologous and implant-based reconstruction groups, data were collected from specific patients. All participants completed the Arabic version of the postoperative reconstruction module.

Results: Among 61 patients, 43 (70.5%) completed the two domains of the BREAST-Q questionnaire, about the satisfaction with the implanted breast and satisfaction with the surgical outcome. These patients were divided into two groups: autologous (n = 21) and implant-based (n = 22) groups. The mean score of satisfaction with the implanted breast was 43.5 for the autologous group and 39.6 for the implant-based group. For the surgical outcome, the scores for the autologous and implant-based groups were 45.4 and 56.0, respectively. However, there was neither a statistical significance in the satisfaction with the implanted breast nor the surgical outcome between the two groups.

Conclusion: Although there are many different surgical techniques to reconstruct a breast after mastectomy, there is still no specific surgical method that is perfect or well-suited for all patients undergoing breast reconstruction surgery. In our study, we found that there was no significant difference in satisfaction between the ABR and IBR group.

Keywords: ABR, autologous breast reconstruction; BMI, body mass index; Breast cancer; Breast implant; Breast reconstruction; IBR, implant-based breast reconstruction; IRB, institute of review board; OPD, out-patient clinic; PRO, patient-reported outcome; Patient-reported outcome; Satisfaction.