ABSTRACT
Introduction Patients' satisfaction after breast reconstruction can be evaluated with validated questionnaires as the Breast-Q questionnaire. The Breast-Q questionnaire includes different domains;one of them is "satisfaction with the result". Material(s) and Method(s): In the multicentre, prospective studies PRO (patient related outcome)-BRA (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01885572) and PRO-Pocket (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03868514), patient satisfaction was assessed using the Breast-Q questionnaire. In the PRO-Bra study, 269 patients underwent subpectoral surgery using the TiLOOP Bra polypropylene mesh (pfm medical ag, Germany). In the 'PRO-Pocket' study, 311 patients underwent prepectoral surgery using the TiLOOP Bra Pocket polypropylene mesh. For the evaluation, those patients from the PRO-Bra and PRO-Pocket studies who completed a Breast-Q questionnaire 6 and/or 12 months after surgery were included. The BreastQ score is measured from 0 to 100, with a score of 100 corresponding to 'very satisfied'. Satisfaction with the result of the breast reconstruction was evaluated. Result(s): In the PRO-Bra study, a total of 221 and 203 patients completed a Breast-Q at 6 months and/or 12 months FU, respectively. The mean age and BMI of the patients with completed Breast-Q were comparable between the two studies (PRO-Bra: 49.3 [+/-11.6] years, 22.9 kg/m2 [+/-3.5];PRO-Pocket: 47.7 [+/-11.7] years, 24.5 kg/m2 [+/-4.3]). In the PRO-Pocket study, a total of 258 and 266 patients completed a Breast-Q at 6 months and/or 12 months FU, respectively. In the PRO-Bra study the mean score of satisfaction with the result at 6 months follow-up (FU) was 74.5 (+/-19.9), in the PRO-Pocket 79.1 (+/-19.1), at 12 months FU the mean scores were 76.3 (+/-18.9) for PRO-Bra and 78.2 (+/-20.4) for PRO-Pocket. Furthermore, stratification according to age (cutoff 50 years) or BMI (cutoff 25 kg/m2) did not reveal any differences between the subgroups or the two studies (see Table). PRO-Bra PRO-Pocket mean score (+/-SD) 6 months 12 months 6 months 12 months BMI <= 25 75.1 (+/-19.7) 76.4 (+/-17.8) 77.7 (+/-19.9) 78.9 (+/-19.8) BMI > 25 72.1 (+/-20.7) 76.1 (+/-22.9) 82.1 (+/-16.9) 76.8 (+/-21.8) age <= 50 76.4 (+/-18.7) 77.0 (+/-18.9) 80.1 (+/-18.7) 78.1 (+/-19.6) age > 50 71.5 (+/-21.5) 75.3 (+/-19.0) 77.5 (+/-19.5) 78.4 (+/-21.8) Conclusion(s): Our data so far show high patient satisfaction with overall outcome of the surgery. In addition, patients' satisfaction with the result was comparable after subpectoral as well as prepectoral implant placement. This is particularly important in the PRO-Pocket study, as approximately 60% of the operations and the follow-up period took place during the COVID-19 pandemic.