Overall quality of life impact on candidates for septorhinoplasty according to the World Health Organization quality of life brief questionnaire (WHOQOL-Brief)

INTRODUCTION: Quality of life has been an increasingly reference measure in whole health impact of diseases and in septorhinoplasty evaluation as well. It is known that the decision for this elective surgical procedure requires the subjective perception of patients’ complaints about their own health and life stage in association with the surgeon’s aesthetic and functional perspective of each case. OBJECTIVE: To define the quality of life of candidates for septorhinoplasty using the World Health Organization quality of life questionnaire, WHOQOL-Brief, and the prevalence of other independent variables for this population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using a sample of candidates for septorhinoplasty was performed. All patients responded to the WHOQOL-Brief during the pre-operative period. A normative population quality of life study was the reference for the sample size and means. RESULTS: A total of 302 patients were included among the 322 eligible patients. Twenty patients did not complete the questionnaire correctly and were excluded from the study. The sample consisted of patients aged between 15 and 78 years (34.7 ± 14 years): the most majority were Caucasian and female. Among this group, 88.1% declared symptoms of nasal obstruction and 77.4% complained of sleeping problems. It was seen that 10.9% patients chose the surgery primarily for aesthetic improvement; 37.1% chose it mainly because of functional symptoms and 52% chose it for both functional and aesthetic reasons. The physical health domain’s mean was 62.2 ± 17), which is a higher mean compared to the references’ standard one (μ = 58.9 ± 10.5, p = 0.002). The social relationship domain mean was 70.8 ± 18.1; that is a lower mean then general population’s one (μ = 76.2 ± 18.8, p < 0.001). The psychological and the environment domain means revealed no difference when comparing the sample to the norm (μ = 65.3 ± 15.1 vs. μ = 65.9 ± 10.8, p = 0.530 and μ = 60.3 ± 13.1 vs. μ = 59.9 ± 14.9, p = 0.667). CONCLUSION: The WHOQOL-Brief questionnaire proved an accurate instrument to cross-check different populations in quality of life outcomes. The study provides good evidence of lower quality of life in social relations domain and high prevalence of nasal obstruction and sleeping symptoms in candidates for septorhinoplasty. This study contributes to recent literature with relevant data supporting a more integrative evaluation in this population in the preoperative period. The results may also encourage a multidisciplinary approach for chronic symptoms when associated with nasal obstruction, sleep disorders and aesthetic complaints.