Quality of life of patients who undergo breast reconstruction after mastectomy: effects of personality characteristics

The World Health Organization defines quality of life as: “individuals’ perception in the context of their culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns. It is a broad-ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person’s physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs, and their relationship to salient features of their environment. The authors describe the effects of personality features in relationship to the quality of life. The Short Form Health Survey Questionnaire measure of quality of life had a statistically and clinically significant change in the 3 months after the combined intervention of mastectomy and tissue expander implant (immediate reconstruction).