Abstract
Aims: Nail surgery is a part of dermatological surgery and can
cause a lot of anxiety in patients. The aims of this study is to
determine the anxiety and pain levels of the patients before, during and
after nail surgery and to determine their effects on their lives.
Methods: Patients aged> 14 years who were admitted
to our outpatient clinic between April 2019-2020 and scheduled for nail
surgery were included in the study. Anxiety (Instant and Trait Anxiety
Scale (STAI)), dermatological quality of life (Skindex-16) and pain
(Visual analogue scale (VAS 0–10)) were recorded before, during and
after nail surgery.
Results: The patients were most worried about the recurrence of
their disease after the procedure (54.17%). Skindex-16 scores in the
31-50 age group were statistically significantly higher than the other
age groups. Preoperative anxiety scores were higher in male patients
compared to females (p = 0.021). Preoperative anxiety was significantly
lower in patients who had previous nail surgery (p = 0.018).
Preoperative pain scores were negatively correlated with preoperative
anxiety (p = 0.048).
Conclusion: Nail surgery is a procedure that can cause anxiety
and stress for patients. Being aware of the anxiety and pain of patients
due to surgery and the factors affecting them by the dermatologic
surgeon can change the attitudes and behaviors towards patients and the
measures to be taken for anxiety and pain can accelerate the recovery of
patients.