QUALITY-OF-LIFE OUTCOMES AFTER COSMETIC SURGERY

Cosmetic surgery is an increasingly common medical procedure whose ben efits to patients have not been quantified objectively. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine long-term quality-of-life out comes for patients undergoing elective cosmetic surgery. In this prosp ective, correlational study of 105 consecutive patients undergoing ele ctive cosmetic surgery, the parameters of quality-of-life index, depre ssion, social support and coping were determined preoperatively and at 1- and 6-month intervals postoperatively. The data from the four stud y instruments were analyzed using Pearson correlation and repeated mea sures of multivariate analysis of variance for differences in each var iable over time. The multivariate analysis of variance quality-of-life index scores for patients improved from baseline preoperative mean le vels of 3.24 to a mean of 2.56 at 1 month, and then to 2.11 (f = 518.5 , p = < 0.0001) at 6 months postsurgery. Mean scores for depression [d etermined by using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Sca le (CES-D)], improved from 11.2 preoperatively to 6.5 at 1 month, and to 6.3 (f = 79.3, p = < .0001) at 6 months after surgery. Surgical int ervention produced no significant differences between preoperative and postoperative ways of coping and social support scores. Cosmetic surg ery produces positive psychological benefits by significantly improvin g quality-of-life outcomes that persist long term, without adversely a ffecting social support and ways of coping.