“Going Flat” After Mastectomy: Patient-Reported Outcomes by Online Survey
Background The Going Flat movement aims to increase awareness and acceptance of mastectomy alone as a viable option for patients. Little is known about motivations and satisfaction with surgical outcomes in this population. Methods An online survey was administered to 931 women who had a history of...
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Published in | Annals of surgical oncology Vol. 28; no. 5; pp. 2493 - 2505 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Cham
Springer International Publishing
01.05.2021
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Background
The Going Flat movement aims to increase awareness and acceptance of mastectomy alone as a viable option for patients. Little is known about motivations and satisfaction with surgical outcomes in this population.
Methods
An online survey was administered to 931 women who had a history of uni- or bilateral mastectomy for treatment of breast cancer or elevated breast cancer risk without current breast mound reconstruction. Satisfaction with outcome and surgeon support for the patient experience were characterized using 5-level scaled scores.
Results
Mastectomy alone was the first choice for 73.7% of the respondents. The top two reasons for going flat were desire for a faster recovery and avoidance of a foreign body placement. Overall, the mean scaled satisfaction score was 3.72 ± 1.17 out of 5. In the multivariable analysis, low level of surgeon support for the decision to go flat was the strongest predictor of a satisfaction score lower than 3 (odds ratio [OR], 3.85; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.59–5.72;
p
< 0.001). Dissatisfaction also was more likely among respondents reporting a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m
2
or higher (OR, 2.74; 95% CI, 1.76–4.27;
p
< 0.001) and those undergoing a unilateral procedure (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.29–3.09;
p
= 0.002). Greater satisfaction was associated with receiving adequate information about surgical options (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.32–0.69;
p
< 0.0001) and having a surgeon with a specialized breast surgery practice (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.38–0.81;
p
= 0.002).
Conclusions
Most patients undergoing mastectomy alone are satisfied with their surgical outcome. Surgeons may optimize patient experience by recognizing and supporting a patient’s decision to go flat. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1068-9265 1534-4681 |
DOI: | 10.1245/s10434-020-09448-9 |