Factors influencing postoperative satisfaction of orthognathic surgery patients

The purpose of this study was to investigate the postoperative satisfaction of orthognathic surgery patients and related factors. The authors assessed 108 orthognathic surgery patients using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Symptom Checklist 90 preoperatively. The degree of deformity, expectations for surgery, and support of significant others were also evaluated before surgery. The patients were given questionnaires at 4 time points, from 10 days to 1 year after surgery. A multiple regression test was used to analyze the relative importance of psychologic factors and other variables in explaining the degree of patients'satisfaction with surgery. Postoperative satisfaction was high and increased with time. Patients with more education and more severe deformities reported greater satisfaction. During the early stage after surgery, patients with a high degree of interpersonal sensitivity, whose close relatives did not support surgery, or who accepted surgery passively tended to be more dissatisfied. Patients who had realistic expectations were more satisfied in the long term. Complications such as pain and swelling influenced patients' satisfaction soon after surgery, whereas the responses of people around the patients influenced their satisfaction at all stages postoperatively.