The use of photographs of postoperative results prior to melanoma resection

Abstract

A total of 99 patients scheduled for resection of stage I melanoma were assigned randomly to be shown individually relevant photographs of anticipated postoperative results. All patients had received verbal information on this subject during discussions with their plastic surgeons. Anticipated and actual cosmetic impact or distress was measured with a self-report questionnaire given prior to and 6 months following surgery. Patients were least distressed postoperatively when their scars were not larger than anticipated. However, photographs failed to achieve the expected benefit of increasing the accuracy of patients' expectations of their postoperative appearance. Consequently, photographs had no effect on levels of preoperative or postoperative distress. Selective attention and preferences for limited information among some patients are suggested explanations for these results.