Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
OBJECTIVE: Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) provide essential information for patients, providers, and policymakers. Previous prospective studies of gender-affirming mastectomy (GM) have demonstrated high satisfaction with chest appearance but have been limited by short follow-up time. The objective of this study was to explore satisfaction with chest appearance after GM prospectively over at least 1.5 years. METHODS: This analysis combined studies of two surveys with the same participants. Individuals were eligible for both studies if they were over the age of 18 and presented to our institution for GM. In the first study, the BODY-Q Chest subscale was administered 1 month pre-operatively and 6 months post-operatively from 2017 to 2019. In the second study, the BODY-Q Chest subscale was administered cross-sectionally from February 2022 to July of 2022. Individuals who completed the pre-operative survey and at least one post-operative survey were included for analysis. The BODY-Q Chest subscale was scored according to its scoring algorithm and descriptive statistics were calculated. Paired, non-parametric testing was used to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: Of the 126 individuals enrolled, 72 individuals completed the pre-operative survey and at least one post-operative survey. Of these, 57 completed the six-month survey, 56 completed the second follow-up survey, and 41 completed both follow-up surveys. The mean second follow-up time was 34.4 months and ranged from 19 to 41 months. Post-operative scores were significantly higher than the pre-operative score (Median: 15 IQR:0;21) for both the six-month (Median: 100 IQR: 87;100, p<0.001) and second follow-up (Median: 93, IQR: 81,100, p<0.001) time-points. While still high (Median Score: 93), the second follow-up score was significantly lower than the six-month post-operative median score (100 vs 93, p=0.011). CONCLUSION: Patients have durable improvements in chest satisfaction following GM; however, BODY-Q scores may decrease slightly over time. Researchers should understand that some PROs in GM may not be stabilized at 6 months and studies with longer follow-up periods are needed. Further, the impact of long-term post-surgical changes, aging, and weight gain on chest appearance should be explored. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Megan Lane MD1500 E Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. email protected
Lane et al. (Thu,) studied this question.