Do Women Often Regret Having a Prophylactic Mastectomy?

Question: Do women often regret having a prophylactic mastectomy?

Answer: I have not had in my practice but maybe one or two women who had a prophylactic mastectomy that, when they came back to see me, regretted it. And I think it's very important, up front, to these patients who are contemplating prophylactic mastectomy that you have a very long discussion with them. Have them talk to a patient who has had prophylactic mastectomies; get your nurse involved; get a psychologist involved, just to be sure that they know all the reasons that they're doing it.

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And if you, and if the patient is aware of the reasons they are having a prophylactic mastectomy, I do not think that they will regret doing that. I do think, however, that if all of those avenues aren't covered, and the patient just pops in and has a prophylactic mastectomy, that you run the risk of them regretting it down the road. But, I think, with proper patient education, that can be avoided.

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