Patient-Reported Satisfaction Following Radiation of Implant-Based Breast Reconstruction.

[BACKGROUND] Little is known with regard to patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in the setting of implant-based reconstruction (IBR) with post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT).

[METHODS] We identified patients who underwent immediate IBR from a prospectively compiled database. The Breast Reconstruction Satisfaction Questionnaire (BRECON-31) was scored and compared between patients with and without PMRT.

[RESULTS] Sixty-four women met the study criteria. Forty-eight did not receive PMRT and 16 did. Nine women had an unanticipated indication for PMRT. The PMRT group was similar to the control group with regard to baseline characteristics (ie, age, marital status, body mass index, tobacco use, and comorbidities). However, treatment and oncologic characteristics (eg, diagnosis, tumour characteristics, systemic therapy use) differed. Of all complications, only capsular contracture rates differed (1.2% vs 13%; = .01). Of the 9 subscales, 7 showed no difference in satisfaction between the groups. Radiated women scored lower in the arm concerns and breast appearance subscales. Scores were similar whether the indication for PMRT had been anticipated or not.

[DISCUSSION] Women with immediate IBR scored similarly to their nonradiated counterparts across 7 of 9 domains of satisfaction. Arm concerns and breast appearance scores are lower with PMRT, likely secondarily to more extensive nodal procedures in higher stage patients and to the side effect profile of radiotherapy. Our findings are in line with the few available studies using other PRO tools to evaluate the impact of PMRT on patient satisfaction and studies objectively measuring the effect of PMRT on arm morbidity and cosmetic outcomes.