Analysis of Satisfaction and Well-Being Following Breast Augmentation Using a Validated Survey Instrument

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Improvements in satisfaction and quality of life following breast augmentation have been shown in the literature. However, few studies have used validated survey instruments. The BREAST-Q is the only questionnaire for breast augmentation that meets international and federal standards for questionnaire development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to implement this most rigorously tested survey, the BREAST-Q, to analyze patient reported satisfaction and quality of life following breast augmentation. METHODS: All patients seen in consultation for breast augmentation between January 2008 and May 2009 were asked to fill out BREAST-Q surveys anonymously during the pre-operative and 6-week post-operative periods. Statistical analysis was performed and a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: 155 patients underwent breast augmentation by a single surgeon (AT) during the study time period. Of these patients, 59 (38%) completed the pre-augmentation survey and 70 (45%) completed the post-augmentation survey. Significant improvements were seen for satisfaction with breast appearance (p<0.001), psychosocial well-being (p<0.001), and sexual well-being (p<0.001) between pre-augmentation and post-augmentation surveys (Figure 1). Conversely, a significant decrease was seen for the physical well-being category (p<0.001). Satisfaction with overall outcomes most strongly correlated to satisfaction with appearance of breasts (r=0.8), and less strongly with psychosocial well-being and sexual well-being (r=0.6). No correlation was found between satisfaction with overall outcomes and physical well-being (r=0.0).Figure 1: Change in BREAST-Q Categories from the Pre-Operative to Post-Operative Survey.CONCLUSION: As the implementation of evidence-based medicine continues to grow in everyday practice, there is increasing pressure to use validated survey instruments to demonstrate patient reported outcomes. Using the validated BREAST-Q, we have shown that breast augmentation significantly improves satisfaction with breast appearance, psychosocial well-being and sexual well-being, and that overall satisfaction is most strongly correlated with satisfaction in appearance of their breasts.