Surgical implants. Psychological responses

Coping with stress is a process. The perceived degree of stress and methods of coping may, therefore, change as one progresses through an experience. This may increase the difficulty a nurse has in attempting to understand the patients' responses. We need to learn more about these psychological processes as they relate to implants so that more effective nursing approaches may be developed. Perioperative nurses must understand the mechanisms underlying psychologic responses to surgery as we do those underlying physiologic and pathologic responses. The framework presented can be used as a guide to assess and understand patients' psychologic responses to surgical implants. It may also stimulate questions and investigation of patients' responses to surgical implantation.