Do Expectations Influence Recovery from Oral Surgery? An Illness Representation Approach

Abstract

There is growing evidence that preoperative expectations can predict a range of surgical recovery indices. This study applied Leventhal's self-regulatory model (SRM) to inform the measurement of preoperative expectations, and to establish its usefulness as a framework for predicting recovery outcomes. One hundred and one participants undergoing oral surgery took part in this prospective study. Data were collected at three time-points; immediately before and after surgery, and seven days later. Results indicated that preoperative expectations of symptoms predicted symptom severity after surgery; timeline expectations predicted return to work and expectations that recovery could be controlled predicted quality of healing. Overall, participants' expectations were more predictive of recovery measures than medical factors. This research highlights the importance of considering expectations in preoperative interventions, and raises a number of issues for future research in this area.