The success of many surgical procedures depends not only on the skill of the surgeon and the use of state-of-the-art technology, but also on the actions and characteristics of the patient. Patients’ emotional and psychosocial concerns, health-related behaviors, outcome expectations, and compliance with treatment regimen can all strongly influence the ultimate effectiveness of surgery.
Thus, mental health professionals are increasingly called upon to perform presurgical psychological screening (PPS) to ensure that patients are given the treatments most likely to be effective, while reducing the chances of worsening their conditions.