PURPOSE: Following breast-conserving surgery or mastectomy followed by autologous breast reconstruction, breast cancer patients were studied to discover their satisfaction with the aesthetic results of the two treatment strategies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred and thirty-four breast cancer patients were included in this study. Sixty-four underwent breast-conserving surgery followed by radiotherapy. Mastectomy was performed in 70 patients with immediate or late reconstruction. To evaluate the quality of the aesthetic results in both groups we designed a questionnaire assessing different cosmetic categories. RESULTS: Patients in both therapy groups showed a very high satisfaction with their cosmetic results; the patients undergoing breast reconstruction were even more satisfied than the patients who had breast-conserving therapy. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that breast reconstruction with autologous tissue offers an opportunity to support patients with advanced breast cancer who were confronted with mastectomy, showing a high degree of satisfaction with the cosmetic results.
