Quality of Life of Patients Post Mastectomy Versus Mastectomy with Immediate Breast Reconstructive surgeries

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. Acommon treatment is mastectomy, which involves the complete removal of breast tissue and isoften followed by immediate reconstruction. As breast reconstruction becomes a keycomponent of modern breast surgery. As a result, it is important to assess the postoperativequality of life and satisfaction of these women. Objective: Assess and compare Quality of Lifeof Patients Post Mastectomy Versus Mastectomy with Immediate Breast Reconstructivesurgeries. Design: comparative descriptive research design was utilized to conduct the study. Settings: This study was conducted at the Surgical Outpatient Clinics Department of theMedical Research Institute Hospital in Alexandria, Egypt. Subjects: A convenient sample of130 post-mastectomy patients was recruited, consisting of two groups: those who underwentmastectomy surgery alone and those who received immediate breast reconstruction surgery. Tools: Two tools were used in this study; Tool I “Post Mastectomy Patients Socio- demographic Characteristics and Clinical data Interview Schedule” and Tool II “PostMastectomy Patients Quality of life Assessment” (BREAST-Q) Results: breast reconstructiongroup showed better psychosocial and sexual wellbeing compared to mastectomy group whilephysical wellbeing was similar across both groups with mean scores (79.18 and 77.17, respectively). Among covariates, age remains with statistically significant ef ect on physicalwellbeing (p=0.021). However, psychosocial wellbeing was significantly improved by breastreconstruction (p=0.012) and occupation (p=0.045), whereas a higher BMI was associatedwith negative impact. Moreover, sexual wellbeing was significantly improved by breastreconstruction(p=<0.001), however living in urban areas was linked to lower sexualwellbeing. Conclusion: Mastectomy and breast reconstruction have a negative impact on thephysical well-being of patients, but breast reconstruction has a less negative impact on sexualand psychosocial wellbeing in comparison with mastectomy. Recommendations: includingnurses for providing integrated nursing care plan based on patients` needs, helping womenmake informed decisions and providing support throughout the treatment journey