American Association of Plastic Surgeons Meeting 2022

Lymphedema and Patient-Reported Outcomes: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis

Leslie N. Kim, MD, Michelle Coriddi, MD, Leslie McGrath, NP, Meghana Shamsunder, MPH, Kathryn Haglich, MS, Babak Mehrara, MD, Joseph H Dayan, MD, Jonas A Nelson, MD, MPH

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Background

- Lymphedema negatively impacts patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) such as BREAST-Q

- Unclear which domains are affected and to what degree

- We performed a propensity-matched analysis comparing BREAST-Q scores of patients with lymphedema and those of patients who did not.

Patients and Methods

- IRB-approved retrospective review: all patients from 2009-2017 who underwent autologous or implant-based reconstruction

- 1:1 no replacement propensity score matched analysis

- Matched covariates: age, race/ethnicity, smoking status, history of chemotherapy or radiation, reconstruction modality and laterality, axillary dissection

Results

- Overall cohort n=3268

- 322 patients per matched cohort

- Matched cohorts with no significant differences in terms of demographics, clinical characteristics, or complications.

- Significant differences in BREAST-Q scores between lymphedema patients and non-lymphedema patients, varying by domain and postoperative time (Fig 1-4)

Conclusions

- Lymphedema significantly affects all BREAST-Q domains (satisfaction with breasts, physical well-being of chest, psychosocial well-being, and sexual well-being) in patients who have undergone breast cancer treatment and reconstruction.

- Larger sample size needed to determine if these differences are clinically significant

- Physicians can use this information to counsel patients on these domains at appropriate times

American Association of Plastic Surgeons Meeting 2022

Lymphedema And Patient Reported Outcomes: A Propensity Score Matched Analysis

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