Background/Objectives: Investigating how placement of a contralateral breast implant in the context of unilateral implant-based breast reconstruction influences aesthetic and patient-reported outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on a single-center prospectively maintained database (January 2021–March 2025) including patients who underwent unilateral implant-based breast reconstruction in association with a contralateral implant placement or not. Exclusion criteria were bilateral implant-based reconstruction or autologous reconstruction, follow-up of less than 6 months and missing data. Demographics and complications were analyzed. Aesthetic outcomes were evaluated by independent blinded surgeons using the Kroll Scale, patient satisfaction was investigated with the BREAST-Q Reconstruction Module v2.0. Statistical analysis used the Student’s t-test, Multivariate regression analysis and Mann–Whitney U test with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: The study group included 21 patients (40.4%) who received a contralateral implant, while the control group included 31 patients (59.6%) who did not receive a contralateral implant. Patients who received contralateral implants showed a significant improvement in cosmetic outcomes evaluated with the Kroll Scale and a raw increment, without statistical significance, in BREAST-Q scores in all subsections investigated (Psychosocial well-being, Sexual well-being and Satisfaction with breasts). Conclusions: Placing a contralateral breast implant in the context of unilateral implant-based breast reconstruction significantly improves aesthetic outcomes and correlates with higher patient satisfaction scores for the reconstructed breast, compared to placing no contralateral implant, without increasing the overall complication rate.
D’Arpa et al. (Sun,) studied this question.
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