Page 158 - Demo

Chapter 8156Additional questions about self-care and discomfortThe additional questions about self-care, pain, and discomfort were filled in by the patients for time points T1-T10 using ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ (Table 9). Chi-squared indicated no significant difference between men and women. The need for self-care and presence of discomfort were high in the immediate postoperative period. More than 50% of the patients needed pain medication for the first 7 days and cooling with ice for the first 3 days. After 4 weeks, more patients were able to do without any extra self-care measures (men: 74%, women: 73%). In addition, a high percentage of patients experienced discomfort in the immediate postoperative period. More than 50% of the patients felt some discomfort 6 months after the surgery. After 1 year, limitations in mouth opening, swelling of the cheeks, and pain resulting from the surgery were absent in almost all patients, though some patients experienced other discomfort. Table 9: Percentage of patients answering self-care and discomfort questions after surgery.Question Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4Day 5Day 6Day 74 weeks6 months≥ 1 yearMale (n)Female (n)2835263225342533263225342432273320271823Did you use any pain medication?MaleFemale1009289918894849189858486797027246004Did you cool with an ice pack?Male Female717450564853326127383212219400404No extra self-care was neededMaleFemale038612616612916182531747395968996Did you experience limited mouth opening?MaleFemale9694100100100889694100919291968867702522013Did you experience reduced chewing ability?MaleFemale93839694889492979687929196888579201904Did you have a swollen cheek?MaleFemale89971001009697969796949685968148395404Did you have pain as a result of surgery?MaleFemale826985757676767077696859585622185764Did not experience any discomfortMaleFemale430000000040407945485052Other discomfortMaleFemale417151612912989812813111215305034