Annelotte van Bommel

102 RESULTS Respondents In total, 41% (193/466) physicians responded. Four of the 193 surveys (2%) were excluded from analyses due to data incompleteness resulting in 118 surgical oncologists and 71 plastic surgeons participating, representing 82 of the 89 hospitals in the Netherlands. Plastic surgeons were significantly younger and on average had less working experience ( Table 1 ). Table 1. Demographic characteristics of respondents (118 surgical oncologists and 71 plastic surgeons) on questionnaire regarding breast cancer management process. Surgical oncologist Plastic surgeon Total n=118 % n=71 % n=189 % Gender Male 59 50% 42 59% 101 53% Female 59 50% 29 41% 88 47% Age, mean in years (range) 48 (35-65) 45 (30-64) 48 (30-65) Working experience, mean in years (range) * 13 (2-33) 10 (1-26) 12 (1-33) Type of hospital** District hospital 42 36% 11 15% 53 28% Teaching hospital 63 53% 48 68% 111 59% University hospital 12 10% 12 17% 24 13% Breast cancer patients treated per year 0 - 50 20 17% 47 66% 67 35% 51 - 100 61 52% 19 27% 80 42% 101 - 150 25 21% 3 4% 28 15% >150 12 10% 2 3% 14 7% * Excluding time as registrar. ** One respondent left the question unanswered. Preoperative Information Provision All surgical oncologists discussed the possibility of IBR and delayed reconstruction with patients undergoing a mastectomy. Surgical oncologists significantly less frequently discussed complications (79% versus 100%, P<0.001) and esthetic outcomes (83% versus 99%, P=0.001) compared to plastic surgeons. Information provision to patients regarding the difference between IBR and delayed