<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<bold>Introduction</bold>: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women, and is usually treated surgically. Mastectomy has a great influence on the mental and physical condition of women. Breast reconstruction offers them a chance to improve their quality of life (QOL) and self-image.
The main aim of the study was to gain knowledge about the impact of breast reconstruction on the QOL of women following mastectomy, and an analysis of the QOL after breast reconstruction, in the context of prosthesis effect assessment.
<bold>Materials and methods</bold>: The study comprised 100 women following breast reconstructive surgery involved in 1 of the 7 “Amazon Clubs” (post-mastectomy women’s associations) in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, northwest Poland. The study was based on the author’s questionnaire, and a shortened standardized version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Statistical calculations were performed with StatSoft Statistica v10 software, adopting a significance level of p &lt; 0.05.
<bold>Results</bold>: The women who decided to have breast reconstruction surgery, noticed improved well-being (67%) and experienced an increase in self-confidence (61%). The vast majority of the patients surveyed (93%) were satisfied with the effect of the prosthesis. Statistically significant differences in QOL were observed in the following spheres: rest and sleep, work capacity, negative feelings, and financial resources (p &lt; 0.05) in relation to the evaluation of the prosthesis effect.
<bold>Conclusions</bold>: 1. Breast reconstruction has a positive influence on improvements in well-being, increasing self-esteem, and the assessment of a more attractive appearance in women of all ages. 2. Breast reconstruction surgery has a positive impact on QOL and health in the physical, psychological, and environmental domains, especially in the women who are satisfied with the effects of the surgery. 3. A negative assessment of the breast reconstruction effect has an adverse influence on QOL. Identifying the factors affecting dissatisfaction with the post-operative outcome is crucial for a complete understanding of the subject, and for implementing measures aimed at improving the QOL of these women.
</abstract>

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women, and is usually treated surgically. Mastectomy has a great influence on the mental and physical condition of women. Breast reconstruction offers them a chance to improve their quality of life (QOL) and self-image.
The main aim of the study was to gain knowledge about the impact of breast reconstruction on the QOL of women following mastectomy, and an analysis of the QOL after breast reconstruction, in the context of prosthesis effect assessment.
Materials and methods: The study comprised 100 women following breast reconstructive surgery involved in 1 of the 7 “Amazon Clubs” (post-mastectomy women’s associations) in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, northwest Poland. The study was based on the author’s questionnaire, and a shortened standardized version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Statistical calculations were performed with StatSoft Statistica v10 software, adopting a significance level of p < 0.05.
Results: The women who decided to have breast reconstruction surgery, noticed improved well-being (67%) and experienced an increase in self-confidence (61%). The vast majority of the patients surveyed (93%) were satisfied with the effect of the prosthesis. Statistically significant differences in QOL were observed in the following spheres: rest and sleep, work capacity, negative feelings, and financial resources (p < 0.05) in relation to the evaluation of the prosthesis effect.
Conclusions: 1. Breast reconstruction has a positive influence on improvements in well-being, increasing self-esteem, and the assessment of a more attractive appearance in women of all ages. 2. Breast reconstruction surgery has a positive impact on QOL and health in the physical, psychological, and environmental domains, especially in the women who are satisfied with the effects of the surgery. 3. A negative assessment of the breast reconstruction effect has an adverse influence on QOL. Identifying the factors affecting dissatisfaction with the post-operative outcome is crucial for a complete understanding of the subject, and for implementing measures aimed at improving the QOL of these women.

Evaluation of women’s quality of life after breast reconstruction surgery

Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin

Department of Gynecology and Reproductive Health

Pomeranian Journal of Life Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Evaluation of women\u2019s quality of life after breast reconstruction surgery"}

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women, and is usually treated surgically. Mastectomy has a great influence on the mental and...

Evaluation of women’s quality of life after breast reconstruction surgery

Published Online: Jun 17, 2020

Page range: 55 - 60

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21164/pomjlifesci.698

Keywords
quality of life, mastectomy, breast cancer, breast reconstruction, breast surgery

© 2020 Marta Stanisz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Evaluation of women’s quality of life after breast reconstruction surgery

Published Online: Jun 17, 2020

Page range: 55 - 60

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21164/pomjlifesci.698

Keywordsquality of life, mastectomy, breast cancer, breast reconstruction, breast surgery

© 2020 Marta Stanisz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
quality of life, mastectomy, breast cancer, breast reconstruction, breast surgery