ABSTRACT
Objective To compare a novel mirror-overlap method with the traditional manual measurement and the subjective assessment in assessing breast symmetry after oncoplastic surgery.Methods 59 patients with breast cancer who underwent conservation/reconstruction surgery were recruited.The post-operative assessment for breast symmetry was conducted using manual measurement,subjective assessment by the patient,their family member and a nurse,and the mirror-overlap method respectively.The latter method involved using the Photoshop to assess the area differences in breast outlines and shadows created by a flashlight when bilateral images were overlapped in the axis of midline.Results The distance differences between bilateral breasts measured using manual method were negatively correlated with symmetric coefficients in the mirror-overlap method (P＜0.05).There was a positive correlation between the average scores in the subjective assessment and symmetric coefficients of mirror-overlap method (P＜0.05).Conclusion The mirror-overlap method is an easy,feasible and cheap method which collects 3D breast information and provides an effective approach to assess breast symmetry after oncoplastic surgery.