Association of attachment anxiety and satisfaction with nasal surgery.

Aim: To investigate the possible contribution of attachment anxiety (AA) to satisfaction with the outcome of surgery.

Methods: Sixty-three patients with chronic sinusitis who were scheduled for FESS with septoplasty were asked to complete a panel of self-report measures assessing attachment style, quality of life, mental health, and degree of facial pain and nasal obstruction. The questionnaires were filled out two weeks before surgery and one month after surgery. One surgeon performed all procedures.

Results: Participants were divided into two groups according to AA scores: high anxiety in attachment and low anxiety in attachment. Postoperatively, the group as a whole showed significant improvement in quality of life, positive thoughts and improvement in pain and sinus congestion. The high AA group reported a significantly lower quality of life than the low AA group. There was an inverse correlation between AA and well-being before and after surgery, and between AA and pain amelioration after surgery. A positive correlation was noted between AA and mental distress.

Conclusions: Even a basic personality factor such as AA can significantly impact patient satisfaction with surgery outcome. Surgeons performing surgery should bear in mind that success is partly related to the patient`s mental state and personality.