Quality of life after autologous fat transfer additional to prosthetic breast reconstruction in women after breast surgery: A systematic review

BackgroundBreast cancer is the most frequent form of cancer among women worldwide. Reconstructive surgery may improve the quality of life (QoL), after mastectomy. Various techniques are used to reconstruct the female breast; however, few is known about its specific post-surgery influence represented in patient-reported outcomes.ObjectiveThis systematic review assesses the difference in patient-reported QoL between prosthetic reconstruction alone, and prosthetic reconstruction with additional autologous fat transfer (AFT).Data sourcesA literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and CINAHL online databases from inception to February 11th, 2020.Study selectionInclusion and exclusion criteria were used to assess the eligibility of the retrieved articles. The only eligible studies were cohort studies.Data collection and analysisRelevant data for the research question was extracted from the articles and systematically documented. Results not contributing to answering the objective were intentionally left out. No meta-analysis was realized.ResultsThis systematic review resulted in the inclusion of only six relevant studies, all cohort studies, consisting of 1437 unique patients. These studies evaluated the quality of life of patients by means of the validated BREAST-Q questionnaire. Outcomes varied for which reason no definite answer could be provided to whether additional AFT results in a higher QoL.ConclusionsIt is unclear whether additional AFT after prosthetic surgery leads to a higher QoL when compared to sole prosthetic reconstruction or not. Additional studies, assessing the QoL of patients who received additional AFT, are required to draw solid conclusions.Level of evidenceLevel III; systematic literature review of cohort studies.