Low Decisional Regret Seen After Gender-Affirming Mastectomy

High satisfaction and low decisional regret seen among 139 responders; no requests for or performance of reversal procedures reported

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Aug. 14, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Following gender-affirming mastectomy, decisional regret is low and satisfaction high, according to a study published online Aug. 9 in JAMA Surgery.

Lauren Bruce, from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined long-term decisional regret and satisfaction with decision using validated instruments in a cross-sectional study surveying patients who had undergone gender-affirming mastectomy between Jan. 1, 1990, and Feb. 29, 2020. Overall, 235 patients were deemed eligible for the study and 139 responded.

The researchers found that none of the responders or nonresponders requested or underwent a reversal procedure. On a 5-point scale, the median Satisfaction With Decision Scale score was 5.0, with higher scores indicating higher satisfaction. On a 100-point scale, the median Decision Regret Scale score was 0.0, with lower scores noting lower levels of regret. Due to lack of variation in responses, a regression analysis could not be performed to identify characteristics associated with low satisfaction with decision or high decisional regret.

“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,” the authors write.

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