Patient satisfaction in relation to nipple reconstruction: The importance of information provision

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Summary

127 women who had previously undergone surgical nipple reconstruction completed self-report questionnaires to assess body image, anxiety, depression, information preference, and satisfaction with surgical outcome, information provision, and the decision to undergo the procedure. Whilst most women were satisfied with the outcome of surgery and of their decision to have nipple reconstruction, this study highlights the importance of information provision that meets patients’ needs at the time of decision-making, in particular information about likely nipple sensation after surgery.

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Background

Breast reconstruction aims to offer benefits to breast cancer patients whose treatment includes mastectomy. To date, research in this area has included examination of patients’ decision making about reconstructive surgery,1, 2 satisfaction with outcome,3, 4 the impact of reconstruction on body image and quality of life5 and relationships and partners’ experiences,6, 7 and comparisons of different surgical procedures and the timing of surgery.8

However, whilst there is a growing body of research

Procedure

All necessary ethics and R&D approvals were obtained. 247 potential participants (women over the age of 18 who had undergone nipple reconstruction during a seven year period) were identified from hospital records and sent an invitation to take part in this study. This invitation consisted of a letter from their consultant, which outlined the study and enclosed a consent form, questionnaire and two stamped-addressed envelopes for the separate return of the completed consent form and

Results

127 participants completed the questionnaire (51.4% response rate). The demographic characteristics of the sample are shown in Table 1. Of the 95 respondents (74.8%) who reported being married or living with a partner, 89 (93.7%) reported their spouse’s occupation, with 74.2% reporting their spouse being in employment, 24.7% retired and 1.1% unable to work because of ill health.

Discussion

This survey of 127 women who had completed nipple reconstruction has found very high levels of satisfaction with the outcome of surgery, in line with previous studies of satisfaction with nipple tattooing e.g.9, 10, 11, 12 Women were also satisfied with their decision to undergo the procedure and very few participants reported regret about their choice. Further analysis of the data found that levels of regret were associated with psychosocial factors (anxiety, depression, body image) and

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank all the women who took part in this study.

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