Outpatient breast cancer surgery: Patient satisfaction study and the role of the attending physician

Objectives. - To evaluate the satisfaction of patients with breast cancer treated surgically in an outpatient setting and the role of the attending physician. Methods. - This prospective satisfaction study focused on patients who had a breast cancer surgery as an outpatient procedure, between February and October 2018, at the CHU and Clinique Mutualiste chirurgicale de Saint-Etienne, Loire, France. The data were collected via a satisfaction survey, which was given to the patients during the postoperative visit. Results. - One hundred and four patients were included. The most frequent surgery was partial mastectomy with sentinel lymph node (63.5%). On overall breast cancer surgery, 47.6% were performed on an outpatient basis. Ninety-seven percent of the patients were satisfied, 96.9% would have recommended this procedure to a friend and 47% could resume their daily activities as early as the second day. Among the patients, 16.2% would have preferred to stay on day more in hospital after the surgery. This preference was related to the complexity (P = 0.035) and duration of the surgery (P= 0.025), fatigue (P= 0.03) and feeling of isolation (P= 0.016). Among the patients, 25.5% saw their doctor for organic, psychological, administrative, monitoring and informational issues. Conclusions. - Outpatient breast cancer surgery seems safe and qualitative. Standardized procedures, relevant information about the outpatient procedure and specificities of this type of care, as well as the transmission of information with the attending physician are the keys to success. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.