Abstract

A prospective trial was conducted to determine the relationship between personality type and the results of surgery for peptic ulcer. Previous investigations had suggested that patients with an obsessional personality fared less well than those who were not obsessional. However, although there was a high incidence of psychiatric disorders in these surgical patients no significant difference was found between the two groups. It was concluded that classifying patients as obsessional and non-obsessional did not have any bearing on the outcome of operation.