Breast Reconstruction Using Patient’s Own Tissues Yields Higher Satisfaction Rates

23 Feb Breast Reconstruction Using Patient’s Own Tissues Yields Higher Satisfaction Rates

According to a recent study published in the January issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, women who have undergone mastectomies report higher satisfaction rates when their own tissues -rather than implants- were used.

Using the recently developed “BREAST-Q” questionnaire to analyze patient satisfaction and quality of life after breast reconstruction for 92 women who had breast reconstruction between 2006 and 2010, it was revealed that women choosing reconstruction with their own tissues were more satisfied with the results. Scores for satisfaction averaged about 75 on a 100-point scale after autologous reconstruction versus 65.5 for implant-based reconstruction.

These findings may reflect differences in patient characteristics between groups.

For example, younger women undergoing immediate implant reconstruction may have higher expectations, compared to women who have waited several months for delayed autologous reconstruction.

However, overall patient satisfaction scores were also higher after autologous reconstruction; about 82 versus 74.5 on various aspects of quality of life, such as psychosocial, sexual, and physical well-being—were not significantly different between groups.

The researchers plan further studies to evaluate some of the questions raised by their preliminary results.