Patient satisfaction and quality of life in breast reconstruction: assessment of outcomes of immediate, delayed, and nonreconstruction
Hianga Fayssa Fernandes Siqueira, Jorge Teixeira, Reginaldo da Silva Lessa Filho, Evânia Curvelo Hora, Filipe Ferreira Brasileiro, Kênya de Souza Borges, Érika de Abreu Costa Brito, Marcela Sampaio Lima, Adriane Dórea Marques, Alex Rodrigues Moura, Tarcizo Costa Figueiredo Júnior, Thiago Costa de Oliveira, Ana Alice Santana Vasconcelos, Carlos Anselmo Lima
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted aiming to assess the quality of life and satisfaction of women who had mastectomy treated with and without breast reconstruction. RESULTS: A total of 81 women who had mastectomy were included, of whom 53 (65.4%) underwent breast reconstruction. Quality of life was not significantly better in the reconstruction group than the nonreconstruction group. Satisfaction with the surgically operated breast, whether reconstructed or not, was positively correlated with quality of life (p = 0.004). There was no significant difference in quality of life between women with immediate and late reconstruction. This study showed that the satisfaction of patients with the operated breast, reconstructed or not, is more important in quality of life than whether the breast was reconstructed or not. When we analyzed the quality of life of women who had mastectomy who were dissatisfied with their unreconstructed breasts, we observed that nonreconstruction had a negative impact on the quality of life.