Conclusion
The Breast Reconstruction and Oncoplastic Surgery Improvement Course studied here positively impacted the mastologists' management of patients. New training centers worldwide can help a lot of women with breast cancer.
Methods
All students enrolled in the Improvement Course between 2010 and 2018 were invited to answer an online questionnaire. Students who did not agree to answer the questionnaire or answered them incompletely were excluded.
Results
Total students included: 59. The mean age: 48.9 years, male (72%) with more than 5 years of Mastology practice (82.2%), from all regions of Brazil, 1.7% from the North, 33.9% from the Northeast, 44.1% from the Southeast, and 12% from the South. Most of the students considered they had little or no knowledge of breast reconstruction (74.6%) and 91,5% did not consider they had enough aptitude to perform breast reconstructions after finishing residency. After the Course, 96.6% considered themselves apt to perform such surgeries. Over 90% of the students considered the Course had impacted their practice and changed their surgical strategy view. Before the Course, 84.8% of the students stated that less than half of their patients who were operated on for breast cancer had breast reconstruction, compared to 30.5% after the Course.