ArticleAnnals of surgical oncology2023
The Impact of Lymphedema on Patient-Reported Outcomes After Breast Reconstruction: A Preliminary Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.
Article in Annals of surgical oncology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Quality of Life and Minimal Clinically Important Difference in Colorectal Cancer Patients Undergoing Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: A Large Prospective Cohort Study.Annals of surgical oncology · 2025Article
- Reduced risk of lymphedema after immediate breast reconstruction in breast cancer: a retrospective nationwide study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Association Between Symptom Burden and Early Lymphatic Abnormalities After Regional Nodal Irradiation for Breast Cancer.Practical radiation oncologyArticle
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundStudies on the impact of secondary lymphedema on patient-reported satisfaction and quality of life following postmastectomy breast reconstruction are limited by their heterogeneity. We aimed to reduce heterogeneity in study sample populations and compare BREAST-Q Reconstruction Module scores of patients with lymphedema matched to patients without lymphedema.
methodsWe identified patients who underwent postmastectomy breast reconstruction from 2009 to 2017 and performed a propensity score-matched analysis to compare patient-reported outcomes of patients who developed lymphedema with those who did not. Matched covariates included age, body mass index, race/ethnicity, smoking history, radiation or chemotherapy exposure, postoperative infection, and reconstruction modality and laterality. Outcomes of interest were pre- and postoperative BREAST-Q scores for Satisfaction with Breasts, Physical Well-being of the Chest, Sexual Well-Being, and Psychosocial Well-Being; the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was four points.
resultsMatched cohorts included 322 patients per group. Preoperative BREAST-Q scores did not differ between lymphedema and non-lymphedema matched cohorts. Postoperative BREAST-Q scores were significantly lower in lymphedema patients: Physical Well-Being of the Chest (all time points), Satisfaction with Breast (at 1 and 2 years), Sexual Well-Being (at 2 years), and Psychosocial Well-Being (at 2 and 3 years). All significant differences in average scores were greater than the MCID.
conclusionsPatients with breast cancer-related lymphedema reported significantly lower Physical Well-Being of the Chest, Satisfaction with Breasts, Sexual Well-Being, and Psychosocial Well-Being at various time points. Our findings may prove useful for patient counseling and justify the need for further research on the prevention and treatment of this devastating disease.
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