Patient Reported Outcome Measures After Breast Augmentation – Using the BREAST-Q IS

Abstract

Purpose: Cosmetic breast augmentation procedures are commonly performed breast device surgeries. The Australian Breast Device Registry (ABDR) administers a five-question patient reported outcome measure (PROM), the BREAST-Q Implant Surveillance module (BREAST-Q IS), to patients 1, 2 and 5 years after breast device surgery. The measure includes an open-ended question to add any comments. This study aimed to use the responses to this open-ended question to assess participants' experiences of breast devices 1 and 2 years after breast augmentation. The secondary objective was to identify emerging and important issues relating to breast augmentation and devices. Patients and Methods: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted using a randomly selected sample of 268 responses to the open-ended question in the BREAST-Q IS, from the ABDR database. These responses were from patients who underwent breast augmentation between 2015 and 2018. Comments were analyzed using conventional content analysis in NVivo 12. Results: Four major themes were identified: satisfaction following breast augmentation, dissatisfaction following breast augmentation, complications and breast symptoms following breast augmentation and other comments. Two dominant themes were regarding satisfaction (n = 112) with overall surgical outcome, medical team, and post-operative appearance and complications and breast symptoms (n = 177) following breast augmentation. Emerging issues identified were rippling of breast implants and breast implant illness (BII). Conclusion:PROMs can be used to understand patients' perspectives on various aspects of their own surgical experiences. Participants provided responses regarding complications and breast symptoms experienced, and rippling of the breast implants and BII are emerging issues after breast augmentation.

Biological Cover Mitigates Disruption of the Dermal Structure in Mechanically Expanded Skin in a Porcine Model

“…ACTA2 + cells are highly specific for ɑ-smooth muscle actin (SMA), whose expression by myofibroblasts can increase due to exogenous mechanical forces and has been identified as the probable cause of capsular contracture in other studies [ 35 , 36 ]. Of the complications ascribed to prosthetic-based breast reconstruction, capsular contracture is a commonly reported endpoint and significantly influences patient satisfaction [ 37 ]. As such, preventative measures against capsule formation in expanded skin may minimize the progressive risk of capsular contracture and provide therapeutic benefit to the patient.…”

Identifying Existing Guidelines, Frameworks, Checklists, and Recommendations for Implementing Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: Protocol for a Scoping Review

“…Traditionally, PROMs were developed for use in research, to assess treatment effectiveness in clinical trials, and were later adopted by clinicians to enhance their clinical management of patients [ 2 , 3 ]. PROMs are increasingly accepted to measure outcomes of an intervention from the patient’s point of view in various health care and research settings including clinical practice, clinical trials, and clinical quality registries (CQRs) [ 1 , 4 , 5 ].…”

“…CQRs systematically monitor the quality of health care within specific clinical domains by routinely collecting, analyzing, and reporting health-related information to their numerous stakeholders [ 13 ]. CQRs have expanded in the last decade to monitor clinical outcomes and facilitate evidence-based clinical practice in most developed countries [ 5 , 19 , 20 ]. Many registries also capture PROs on the expectations and impact of treatment from patients to provide benchmark reports for quality improvement within clinical settings [ 21 ].…”