Comparison of Static Photography and Real Time Digital Video in the Assessment of Aesthetic Outcomes Following Breast Reconstruction

Breast cancer is the commonest cancer to affect women in the UK. Current guidelines state that; disease permitting, all females due to undergo mastectomy for breast cancer should be offered reconstruction. This usually takes place in the form of implant based reconstruction, regional flap based reconstruction +/- implant or free autologous tissue based reconstruction.

Traditional methods of subjectively assessing the aesthetic outcome of any of the forms of breast surgery have been shown to be poor and the assessment of immediate reconstructions a cumbersome task. The qualitative part of the assessment usually relies on standardised clinical photographs and panel ratings. Four to six photographs are usually taken of the patient and their reconstruction from different angles. These photographs are then shown to an expert panel (usually consisting of healthcare professionals familiar with breast reconstruction).

A large degree of both inter and intra-observer bias exists when comparing standardized photographs. The results from expert assessment of cosmesis often do not correlate to the patients opinion with regards to the cosmetic outcome of their reconstruction

Due to the static nature of clinical photography it does not capture the effect which movement and gravity play on a reconstructed breast in comparison to a normal breast.

A large volume of information can be captured from a short digital video clip in comparison to a single photograph. The potential advantages of digital video assessment over photography are only beginning to be explored with regards to aesthetics in other fields associated to medicine.9 However this has never been trialed with regards to breast cancer reconstruction.