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The psychological impact of immediate rather than delayed breast reconstruction
S K Al-Ghazal1, L Sully, L Fallowfield
1Professorial Unit of Surgery, Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham, UK.
Aims:
A retrospective analysis of the psychological advantages of immediate reconstruction (IR) against delayed reconstruction (DR).
Methods:
A total of 121 patients who underwent different types of breast reconstruction were seen in the follow-up clinic and assessed for: anxiety, depression, body image, self-esteem, sexuality and satisfaction.
Results:
Ninety-five percent of the patients who had IR preferred this technique and 76% of the DR group would have preferred IR. Anxiety and depression were decreased and body image, self-esteem and sexual feeling of attractiveness and satisfaction were significantly superior in the IR group compared with that of the DR group.
Conclusion:
Patients who had immediate reconstruction recalled less distress and had better psychosocial well being than those who had delayed reconstruction.