Sex after Neurosurgery–Limitations, Recommendations, and the Impact on Patient’s Well-being

Abstract

The aspects that affect the well-being of patients after neurosurgery are diverse. While most contemporary research argues that well-being is multidimensional and related to how individuals, communities, and societies feel when they are successful, there is no single agreed-upon definition [1]. Well-being is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as the state of feeling healthy and happy (Cambridge Dictionary). Well-being is a term used synonymously with a wide range of concepts including self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-determination, resilience, quality of life, improved mood, positive mental health, life satisfaction, and value [2].

A patient after neurosurgery experiences a hospitalization that can affect his well-being and he eventually returns to the community from which he came. A community is a small, local group of people who share common interests and values [3]. When patients return after neurosurgery to a society that should help them reintegrate while dealing with new physical and mental disabilities, this requires cooperation and can reflect the level of social cohesion, which may be affected by the resilience of the community.

No agreement has yet been reached on an accepted and agreed-upon definition of “community resilience”. In a systematic literature review, 80 articles were identified in which “community resilience” remains an amorphous concept that is understood and applied differently by different research groups. However, despite the differences in concept and implementation, there are well-understood elements that are widely suggested as important for a resilient community. Focusing on these individual elements may be more productive than trying to define and study community resilience as a distinct concept [4].

A resilient community is a community that can help its members withstand and recover from general or personal adversity and crises, respond to individuals in times of crisis, and provide them with strong social networks. The strength of each individual in society ultimately contributes to the strength of society as a whole. If so, the aspects that affect people’s well-being are many, and one of them is a stable and strong community [4]. We will try to understand in this report the patients’ well-being after neurosurgery and how we can ensure that they become a significant part of society again and not a burden.

This report will deal with a specific aspect that may contribute to their well-being at different levels and that is sex. The goal is to systematically review the literature investigating sexual relations after neurosurgery and offer recommendations for dealing with patients after neurosurgery since there is not much literature on the subject but there is a great need for essential information on this subject, both on the part of the therapists and the patients.