Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40579632›Full record

ArticleJournal of racial and ethnic health disparities2026

Postoperative Outcomes After Breast Reduction: Do Racial Disparities Exist?

Samuel Knoedler, Thomas Schaschinger, Harriet Kiwanuka, Ryoko Hamaguchi, Mario Cherubino, Doha Obed, Hans-Guenther Machens, Dennis P Orgill, Adriana C Panayi, Bong-Sung Kim

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Article in Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Samuel Knoedler *Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Thomas Schaschinger *Department of Hand, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Plastic- and Hand Surgery, BG Trauma Center Ludwigshafen, University of Heidelberg, Burn Center, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Harriet KiwanukaDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Ryoko HamaguchiDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Mario CherubinoDepartment of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Doha ObedDepartment of Plastic, Aesthetic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
Hans-Guenther MachensDepartment of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
Dennis P OrgillDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Adriana C PanayiDivision of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. adriana.panayi@bgu-ludwigshafen.de.
Bong-Sung KimDepartment of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, Rämistrasse 100, 8091, Zurich, Switzerland. bong-sung.kim@usz.ch.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRacial disparities in surgical outcomes are well documented across various procedures, including oncological and reconstructive breast surgery. However, it remains unclear whether these inequalities extend to reduction mammoplasty.

methodsWe queried the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database between 2011 and 2022 to identify adult female patients who underwent breast reduction and reported their racial identity. 30-day postoperative outcomes were compared across four racial groups-Asian, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander-against White patients using univariate and confounder-adjusted multivariate analyses.

resultsThe study cohort included 26,329 female patients, with 64% (n = 16,930) identified as White, 34% (n = 8,873) as Black/African American, 1.2% (n = 326) as Asian, 0.41% (n = 109) as American Indian/Alaska Native, and 0.35% (n = 91) as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. A total of 1,660 adverse events (6.3%) occurred, with complication rates ranging from 4.0% (n = 13) in Asian patients to 6.5% (n = 1,108) in White patients. While breast reduction surgery was generally safe across all racial groups, multivariable analysis identified subtle yet statistically significant disparities: Black/African American patients had a significantly lower likelihood of overall (OR = 0.81) and surgical complications (OR = 0.65), including superficial incisional infections (OR = 0.50; all p < 0.001), but a higher risk of deep incisional infections (OR = 1.4; p = 0.013) and unplanned readmissions (OR = 1.3; p < 0.001). Asian patients demonstrated a significantly lower risk of surgical complications (OR = 0.23; p = 0.041).

conclusionBreast reduction surgery is generally safe across all racial groups; however, our findings also unveiled subtle racial disparities in its postoperative outcomes. Black/African American patients were found to have a lower risk of overall and surgical complications but were more susceptible to deep incisional infections and unplanned readmissions. Asians were significantly less likely to experience surgical complications. These results reinforce the strong safety profile of reduction mammoplasty while underscoring the need for further research into the underlying factors contributing to differential outcomes.

Indexed as

Healthcare DisparitiesMammaplastyPostoperative ComplicationsRacial GroupsAdultAmerican Indian or Alaska NativeAsianBlack or African AmericanFemaleHumansMiddle AgedNative Hawaiian or Pacific IslanderUnited StatesWhiteACS-NSQIPBreast reductionBreast surgeryRacial disparitiesReduction mammoplasty

Identifiers

PMID40579632

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.