Psychological Reactions and Persistent Facial Pain following Enucleation

Background. Enucleation is a psychologically and physically traumatic event associated with chronic pain. It would be desirable to better predict which patients will have pain after surgery. Methods. A cross-sectional postal questionnaire study of adults undergoing enucleation captured the demographic details, Pain Quality Assessment Scale (PQAS), Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and the Facial Pain Assessment questionnaire. Patients were classified as suffering from chronic pain if they reported a pain score of >1 out of 10 on the numerical pain score (NRS). Results. Seventeen of 60 adults participated in the study. 47% of patients reported chronic pain (mean pain score = 1.4 ± 0.7, n = 17); 25% experienced pain daily. No difference in age, surgical side, reason for surgery, or the duration of time since the surgery was noted. All patients had low PQAS scores and 50% of individuals with persistent pain were concerned about their facial appearance. There was no significant difference in the level of catastrophization noted in patients with or without pain or between the subgroups (rumination, magnification, or helplessness). Conclusions. Although persistent pain following enucleation affected a significant number of patients, the pain intensity was mild. Enucleation influenced the physical perception some individuals had of themselves.