Investigating the relationship between sensation and satisfaction in reduction mammaplasty: A systematic review and...

Reduction mammaplasties are among the plastic surgery procedures with the highest rates of patient satisfaction. However, the loss of postoperative sensation in the breast and nipple-areolar complex remains a concern. In light of increasing interest in nerve-preservation techniques, we sought to investigate the relationship between retained sensation with overall satisfaction in reduction mammaplasty in current literature.

The authors systematically reviewed all studies that reported postoperative sensation and satisfaction in patients who underwent reduction mammaplasty, using the MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Scopus databases in October 2023. Studies were evaluated for methodological quality using an NIH Quality Assessment Tool. Meta-analyses of proportions were conducted.

A total of 48 studies met the eligibility criteria. The median quality assessment score was 8/10. For 28 studies eligible for statistical analysis, random effects pooled proportion for patients that retained preoperative sensation was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.67-0.87), and for patients that report postoperative satisfaction was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.91-0.97). Overall, the studies reported a relatively wide range of sensation outcomes with consistently high satisfaction scores.

The results of this systematic review suggest that other surgical factors (e.g., relief of macromastia symptoms, aesthetic appearance) play a greater role in patient satisfaction compared to sensation retention in reduction mammaplasty. Wide variability in assessment methodologies for both sensation and satisfaction was noted. Standardizing and objectifying measurement techniques, particularly for sensation, will help further characterize the relationship between sensation and satisfaction in future studies.