Background: The effect of lumpectomy defect repair (a level 1 oncoplastic technique) on patient-reported breast satisfaction among patients undergoing lumpectomy has not yet been investigated.
Methods: Patients undergoing lumpectomy at our institution between 2018 and 2020 with or without repair of their lumpectomy defect during index operation, comprised our study population. The BREAST-Q quality-of-life questionnaire was administered preoperatively, and at 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years postoperatively. Satisfaction and quality-of-life domains were compared between those who did and did not have closure of their lumpectomy defect, and compared with surgeon-reported outcomes.
Results: A total of 487 patients met eligibility criteria, 206 (42%) had their partial mastectomy defect repaired by glandular displacement. Median breast volume, as calculated from the mammogram, was smaller in patients undergoing defect closure (826 cm3 vs. 895 cm3, p = 0.006). There were no statistically significant differences in satisfaction with breasts (SABTR), physical well-being of the chest (PWB-CHEST), or psychosocial well-being (PsychWB) scores between the two cohorts at any time point. While patients undergoing defect closure had significantly higher sexual well-being (SexWB) scores compared with no closure (66 vs. 59, p = 0.021), there were no predictors of improvement in SexWB scores over time on multivariable analysis. Patients' self-reported scores positively correlated with physician-reported outcomes.
Conclusions: Despite a larger lumpectomy-to-breast volume ratio among patients undergoing defect repair, satisfaction was equivalent among those whose defects were or were not repaired at 2 years postsurgery. Defect repair was associated with clinically relevant improvement in patient-reported sexual well-being.
Keywords: Breast cancer; Breast satisfaction; Lumpectomy; Partial mastectomy; Patient-reported outcomes.
© 2023. Society of Surgical Oncology.