Satisfaction survey on a preoperative explanation method using three-dimensional breast imaging for breast cancer patients considering breast-conserving surgery

Purpose Although one of the essential factors in surgical shared decision-making is the body image, the breast morphology after breast-conserving surgery is particularly difficult to explain in a uniform manner due to large individual differences. Methods Patients with breast cancer eligible for breast-conserving surgery (BCS) were recruited between June 2020 and October 2021. We surveyed the patients’ satisfaction with our method of explaining the likely breast morphology after BCS using three-dimensional (3D) breast imaging in the form of a questionnaire. Results A total of 162 patients were enrolled, and 137 (84.6%) answered the questionnaire. One hundred and sixteen patients (84.6%) answered that they were very satisfied or satisfied with our explanation method, and 100 (73.0%) patients were very satisfied or satisfied with the 3D breast imaging. Some patients answered that 3D breast imaging helped them prepare for BCS, or on the contrary, made them choose mastectomy with breast reconstruction because the deformation likely with BCS was considered unacceptable. Only a few patients who underwent BCS felt that their postoperative morphology was more deformed than the preoperatively imagined one. Conclusion Our results suggest that our preoperative explanation method using 3D breast imaging was useful for shared decision-making.