Evaluation of the Effect of Surgery Type on Preoperative Anxiety in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Patients

Introduction In most surgical operations, the type of surgery has been shown to influence preoperative anxiety, which in turn leads to changes during surgery. The aim of this study is to investigate how preoperative anxiety is affected by the type of surgery in patients undergoing maxillofacial surgery under general anesthesia. Material and Methods This prospective comparative observational study involved patients who underwent oral and maxillofacial surgery at Aydın Adnan Menderes University. Patients were divided into the minor surgery and the major surgery groups. Preoperative anxiety measured by the Spielberger State–Trait Anxiety Inventory‐State (STAI‐S) and STAI‐Trait (STAI‐T) and the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS). Postoperative pain measured by visual analog scale (VAS) at the first and fourth hours, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) were observed within 6 h. Results A total of 120 patients were included in the study; 60 in the major surgery group and 60 in the minor surgery group. Preoperative anxiety scores were significantly higher in the minor surgery group compared to the major surgery group (STAI‐S: 49.15 ± 12.82 vs. 43.26 ± 13.70; STAI‐T: 45.65 ± 10.97 vs. 39.90 ± 7.48; p = 0.017 and p = 0.001, respectively). Patients in the major surgery group had significantly higher pain scores at 1 h postoperatively, higher frequency of vomiting, and longer recovery times compared to patients in the minor surgery group. ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Preoperative anxiety can affect patients in the intraoperative and postoperative periods. This study, which evaluated the effect of surgery type on anxiety, found that patients who underwent minor surgery showed higher anxiety scores compared to patients who underwent major surgery. Since there is a multifactorial relationship between pain, postoperative discomfort, and preoperative anxiety; this study found that the type of surgery the patient underwent was a more influential factor than anxiety in terms of pain and postoperative discomfort.