Patient attitudes to sternotomy and thoracotomy scars.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There are no data comparing patient attitudes to sternotomy and thoracotomy scars following surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Two hundred and one patients with a scar from CHD surgery (105 sternotomy, 36 thoracotomy, and 60 both scars) had a structured interview to explore attitudes to their scar. RESULTS: Comparable proportions of each group reported that they did not like or hated their scar (23/105 [22 %] sternotomy, 9/36 [25 %] thoracotomy, 17/60 [28 %] both scars). Significantly more patients stated that they where embarrassed by and/or their choice of clothing was affected by a thoracotomy scar (20/36, 56 %) than those with a sternotomy scar (36/105, 34 %), p = 0.04. This was also seen when comparing sternotomy alone with both scars (36/105 [34 %] vs. 34/60 [57 %], p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Adults who have undergone surgery for CHD are more likely to have a negative attitude to a thoracotomy than a sternotomy scar. Before a change in surgical approach is considered based on patient preferences, the acceptability and psychological impact of the different scars following surgery needs formal study.