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Quality of life and self-esteem after breast asymmetry surgery
Miguel Sabino Neto1, Ana Lucia Alves Lemos da Silva, Elvio Bueno Garcia
1Department of Plastic Surgery, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. msabino@uol.com.br
Background:
Surgical correction of breast asymmetry involves not only an acceptable aesthetic result but also physical, social, and psychological consequences on the patient's quality of life.
Objective:
The authors evaluated the impact of breast asymmetry surgical treatment on self-esteem and health-related quality of life in a group of 35 patients.
Methods:
Patients completed the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), a generic health evaluation tool that covers quality of life across 8 dimensions, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, a specific tool for evaluating self-esteem. Both were applied before and at 3 and 6 months after surgery. Friedman two-way analysis of variance and the Tukey test were used to compare the differences between the scores and the different time periods.
Results:
There was a progressive improvement in all dimensions of the SF-36 that was statistically significant for 4 dimensions and self-esteem. Statistically significant differences were found for "emotional role" and "self-esteem" at 3 months after surgery and for "pain," "vitality," and "mental health" at 6 months after surgery.
Conclusions:
The results suggest that breast asymmetry surgical treatment provides an improvement in health-related quality of life and self-esteem.
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