Significance of coping strategies on the outcome of surgical treatment of patients with prosoplegia

Aim: to evaluate the impact of coping strategies on the outcomes of surgical treatment of patients with prosoplegia. Material and methods: the analysis of the results of surgical treatment of 50 patients with prosoplegia that developed after removal of tumors of the posterior part of the skull, the lateral part of the skull base, and the parotid-masticatory region involved in reconstructive interventions on the facial nerve was performed. At the preoperative stage a clinical examination of patients was performed according to the House-Brackmann scale, Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (SFGS) scale, and a neurophysiological study was performed. A survey was carried out with the use of the Heim’s questionnaire, WCQ (version by Lazarus), CSI as an indicator of coping strategies before surgery and the Aaron Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC). Outcomes were evaluated according to the Johnny Chuieng-Yi Lu subjective scale “Satisfaction with surgical treatment”. Results: all patients from 6 to 10 months after surgery showed signs of muscle recovery, which in the majority (88%, n=44) was accompanied by an improvement in their condition. In 12% of cases (n=6) there were no positive dynamics, which caused unsatisfactory results of treatment. Such painful conditions are often interrupted or recommendations for self-rehabilitation are not followed. The above-described predominance of maladaptive coping strategies in patients with unsatisfactory initial operations is reliable. Adaptive treatment strategies were better developed in patients with favorable treatment outcomes. A high direct correlation was established between the outcomes of treatment, assessed by the Johnny Chuieng-Yi Lu scales, SGFS and SOC coherence scale, Conclusion: Systemic complex rehabilitation and self-rehabilitation have a significant impact on treatment outcomes. Prosoplegia leads to a violation of facial and emotional expression, causing social maladjustment and depressive disorders, minimizing the effects of reinnervation in combination with negative coping strategies. As a result, full-fledged surgical treatment of the facial muscles is currently a very difficult and sometimes insurmountable task.