ABSTRACT
Objective To identify the prevalence and profile of psychological difficulties in a sample of women seeking the breast reconstruction, and to study the effect of the reconstructive surgery on their psychology. Methods Before and after the breast reconstruction, 50 breast-loss women were tested with the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), the self-rating depression scale (SDS), the self-esteem scale (SES),the self- rating body dysmorphic disorder scale (SBDDS), and the Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ), respectively. The proportion of the abnormally psychological patients was counted, their personality characters were analyzed, and the postoperative psychological changes were obverved. Results It was found that the 64 percent of the breast-loss patients were in anxiety, 30 percent were in depression, and 18 percent were in body dysmorphic disorder. The characteristics of their personality were more extravert, sociable and easily emotional agitation. The scores in SES of the preoperative patients were 27.46±8.95, and those of the postoperative patients were 33.05±6.12 (P＜0.05). The scores in SBDDS of the preoperative patients were 25.74±13.23, and those of the postoperative patients were 18.22±8.08 (P＜0.05).Conclusion The proportion of the anxiety, depression and BDD is high in the breast-loss women, and the postoperative psychology of esteem and body dysmorphic disorder is improved effectively.