Summary
Surgeons at the University of Michigan surveyed adults who had breast removal (mastectomy) as gender surgery at their hospital at least two years earlier. 139 of 235 eligible patients (59%) replied. The typical answers showed full satisfaction and no regret, and nobody had asked the hospital to rebuild their breasts. The authors say this confirms regret is very low. But 41% did not reply, and they had been out of surgery longer, which is when regret is more likely to show up. Thirteen people who scored very high for regret were left out, because the authors assumed they had misunderstood the questions. Typical follow-up was only 3.6 years, and the questionnaires were made for other medical decisions. The study suggests most people who answered were satisfied, but it cannot rule out real regret in the wider group.
Key findings
- 235 осіб, які пройшли гендерне видалення грудей в одній американській університетській лікарні між 1990 і лютим 2020 року, були придатні, і 139 (59%) відповіли на опитування.
- Типовому пацієнту було 27 років на момент операції, а типовий час після операції для тих, хто відповів, становив 3,6 року (від 2 до майже 24 років).
- Типова відповідь показувала найвищу можливу задоволеність і нульовий жаль; середня оцінка жалю становила 4 зі 100.
- Тринадцятеро осіб дали дуже високі оцінки жалю (від 95 до 100 зі 100), водночас кажучи, що задоволені, і автори виключили їх, припустивши, що вони неправильно заповнили опитування.
- Ті, хто не відповів, були далі від операції (типово 4,6 проти 3,6 року) і рідше мали записану депресію (44% проти 68%) чи тривогу (44% проти 70%).
- Приблизно кожен п'ятий із тих, хто відповів (27 осіб, 19%), тепер описував свій гендер інакше, ніж на момент операції; їхня типова оцінка жалю також була нульовою.
- Ніхто, незалежно від того, відповів чи ні, не просив і не проходив операції зі скасування в цій лікарні.
Abstract
IMPORTANCE: There has been increasing legislative interest in regulating gender-affirming surgery, in part due to the concern about decisional regret. The regret rate following gender-affirming surgery is thought to be approximately 1%; however, previous studies relied heavily on ad hoc instruments.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate long-term decisional regret and satisfaction with decision using validated instruments following gender-affirming mastectomy.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: For this cross-sectional study, a survey of patient-reported outcomes was sent between February 1 and July 31, 2022, to patients who had undergone gender-affirming mastectomy at a US tertiary referral center between January 1, 1990, and February 29, 2020.
EXPOSURE: Decisional regret and satisfaction with decision to undergo gender-affirming mastectomy.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Long-term patient-reported outcomes, including the Holmes-Rovner Satisfaction With Decision scale, the Decision Regret Scale, and demographic characteristics, were collected. Additional information was collected via medical record review. Descriptive statistics and univariable analysis using Fisher exact and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed to compare responders and nonresponders.
RESULTS: A total of 235 patients were deemed eligible for the study, and 139 responded (59.1% response rate). Median age at the time of surgery was 27.1 (IQR, 23.0-33.4) years for responders and 26.4 (IQR, 23.1-32.7) years for nonresponders. Nonresponders (n = 96) had a longer postoperative follow-up period than responders (median follow-up, 4.6 [IQR, 3.1-8.6] vs 3.6 [IQR, 2.7-5.3] years, respectively; P = .002). Nonresponders vs responders also had lower rates of depression (42 [44%] vs 94 [68%]; P < .001) and anxiety (42 [44%] vs 97 [70%]; P < .001). No responders or nonresponders requested or underwent a reversal procedure. The median Satisfaction With Decision Scale score was 5.0 (IQR, 5.0-5.0) on a 5-point scale, with higher scores noting higher satisfaction. The median Decision Regret Scale score was 0.0 (IQR, 0.0-0.0) on a 100-point scale, with lower scores noting lower levels of regret. A univariable regression analysis could not be performed to identify characteristics associated with low satisfaction with decision or high decisional regret due to the lack of variation in these responses.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional survey study, the results of validated survey instruments indicated low rates of decisional regret and high levels of satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming mastectomy. The lack of dissatisfaction and regret impeded the ability to perform a more complex statistical analysis, highlighting the need for condition-specific instruments to assess decisional regret and satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming surgery.
Conclusion
In this cross-sectional survey study, the results of validated survey instruments indicated low rates of decisional regret and high levels of satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming mastectomy. The lack of dissatisfaction and regret impeded the ability to perform a more complex statistical analysis, highlighting the need for condition-specific instruments to assess decisional regret and satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming surgery. (Discussion: "While prospective, multicenter work is needed, these results are consistent with previous ad hoc studies and affirm the overwhelmingly low levels of regret following gender-affirming surgery.")