Prehabilitation
Preparing for Major Surgery? Unlock the Power of Pre-habili-ta-tion for Faster Healing, Stronger Recovery, and Better Outcomes!
The English version of this topic is here
এই টপিকের বাংলা লিংকের জন্য এখানে ক্লিক করুন
✂️ What to Do Before a Major Surgery ?
👉🏽 Before undergoing major surgery and treatment, there are several steps you can take to help both your body and mind heal faster afterward. This preparation is often referred to as “prehabilitation” in medical terms.
🤔 Why Prepare in Advance?
👉🏽 Surprisingly, undergoing major surgery is somewhat akin to running a marathon. (In 2017, a detailed article was published in The British Medical Journal - How much preparation is necessary?). Just as marathon runners prepare and train, patients facing surgery have an opportunity to prepare when there is time. While some surgeries are emergencies and can’t be planned, for others, pre-surgery preparation is essential.
👉🏽 After major surgery, the body undergoes significant changes, making careful recovery planning necessary. Allocating time for recovery is crucial.
👉🏽 In certain cases, patients may require chemotherapy or radiotherapy before surgery. These treatments can also impact future surgical outcomes.
🤔 What Preparations Should You Make?
👉🏽 Consider engaging in exercises such as breathing exercises and consuming nutritious food to improve your fitness before surgery. The result? Faster recovery after the surgery, allowing you to return to your normal life sooner. Plus, it may even reduce hospital bills.
🤔 What are the preparations that will help me to recover quickly?
👉🏽 It's not that difficult but involves some simple tasks. The main part of it is exercise. Additionally, eating nutritious food that keeps the body healthy is important. But of course, the main ingredient of the diet should be protein.
👉🏽 Often, after consulting a doctor, it seems we pass several days to do the necessary investigations. Or sometimes it takes another two to three days to discuss with the doctor and determine which hospital the surgery will take place in and when.
👉🏽 You have to use this time for pre-habilitation only. Just as students after the test results who work so hard in the last three months before their final exams get better results, this time should be utilized similarly.
🤔 Now you may ask what are the benefits of this preparation?
👉🏽 The biggest benefit of pre-habilitation is that it prepares your body and mind to achieve better treatment outcomes. Many patients lose their physical strength and stamina before or after the treatment due to illness.
👉🏽 Additionally, due to various kinds of thoughts and other reasons may decrease the appetite, due to which the patient can not eat and drink properly and becomes physically and mentally weak.
👉🏽 Research shows those who regularly exercise in the previous weeks before surgery recover faster.
👉🏽 Not only for the treatment, this pre-habilitation will also improve your physical fitness and muscle strength. It depends on how much exercise you can do. Proper exercise will keep your heart and lungs much fitter.
👉🏽 However, don’t just exercise for the same duration daily. Suppose, start with 10 minutes on the first day and then you’re doing everyday for 10 minutes that will not be effective. On an everyday basis, need to increase the duration gradually. You will understand how much you can endure after several weeks of planned exercise.
If you are not used to exercising properly, you might exercise less than necessary. So, at first don’t start with too much exercise immediately. But gradually increase the duration. Don’t be scared by a little exercise.
👉🏽 If there is any doubt in your mind, consult your doctor immediately. If there is a fitness expert nearby you, then you can consult them as well. This kind of advice from a genuine physiotherapist can be cost effective for you.
👉🏽 But if you think, you can still seek help from them. If you cannot exercise properly due to physical condition, then walk on the flat ground. If needed, slow down at your own pace. But the walking duration should be for at least 12 to 15 minutes.
👉🏽 Initially, some may find walking difficult, but the body will gradually adjust. If the walking speed is slow then also continuous walking is essential. As intermittent walking is not as beneficial.
👉🏽 Never think that these preparations are only for recovering from surgery, these lessons will make you stand out from others for the rest of your life. Wherein you will be a role model to your family.
😵💫 What should I do after this discussion?
👉🏽 During this discussion, feel free to ask any questions to us, we will guide you on how to plan your exercise to stay fit.
👉🏽 We will also advise you on how to improve your diet. On an average note, in an Indian's diet 👉🏽 protein is less. Protein is like the building blocks for the body. Recovery without protein is unimaginable. Protein will be the main part of your diet. And then you can have whatever you want.
👉🏽 If you have a habit of smoking or drinking alcohol, it is essential to stop before the surgery. Because smoking and alcohol consumption can increase the complications during surgery. And this can increase the hospital bills as well. So, change yourself quickly.
👉🏽 If you need any practical advice or emotional support, let us know. Many people require this.
Feel free to ask for more general advice. We will tell you what you should do before the surgery.
🤏🏾 Some necessary steps:
Before surgery, you need to trim your nails short. Long nails harbor many viruses and bacteria which can increase the risk of infection before and after surgery.
Before admission to the hospital, it’ll be good to remove nail polish, nail varnish, or artificial nails. Because all these chemicals interfere in the measurement of oxygen level in blood, which is measured from the finger.
Regular bathing before surgery is crucial. Pay special attention to the navel area or belly button, where fibers from old clothes and body discharge can accumulate, sometimes it forms like a stone-like substance in the navel area. That is called Omphalolith.
If surgery is around the navel area, surgeons will remove the Omphalolith. But cleaning the navel beforehand the surgery reduces the risk of infection during the operation. Before the surgery try to bathe daily with soap.
Do breathing exercises regularly. At least three times a day, this kind of exercise will benefit you. This is like Pranayama. Sometimes, the hospital will provide an incentive spirometer, a small breathing device. Where during your breathing process there’ll be some balls that will go up and down. So that you can do breathing exercises in it.
If you don’t have an incentive spirometer or can’t buy one, sit in a chair, place your hands on a table, and take a deep breath. Hold it as long as possible, and then slowly exhale. This is a cycle of breathing.
Try to do this 10 times in the morning, 10 times in the afternoon, and 10 times in the evening. The average person's lower parts of the lungs don't work. It remains silent. This exercise helps those parts to open up. So that during surgery your body gets more oxygen.
This reduces the risk of lung infection at the immediate 2-3 days of post-surgery period. So that it’ll speed up your recovery process after surgery.
If you want to buy an incentive spirometer you’ll get it from any running medical shop. In my prescription you’ll get the information on how to use an incentive spirometer and how to learn this kind of skill from a physiotherapist. If you don’t understand, please ask us.
Nutrition is extremely important around the time of surgery. After abdominal surgery, eating is often restricted until gas is passed (known medically as flatus). At that moment starting a large meal too soon may cause vomiting.
It is not like that you’ll feel so hungry also. On the day before a major abdominal surgery, drinking a nutrient-rich drink is essential. Although in foreign countries, they used a drink called Ensure Plus which is available in India but the composition is not similar to that. And that is not enough for the required nutrition.Ensure Plus, which is from England (I don’t know why, the composition of Ensure Plus in England and India is different - hence not of same benefit) contains a large portion of protein, with a substantial amount of energy. And with that it contains enough calories. Those will help you to recover during the period of operation and in those 2-3 days of post surgery.
During our visits to drugstores in Kolkata and its suburbs, we discovered that this particular type of nutritional drink is unavailable in India. However, a specific nutrition powder is available that contains close to the amount of energy, calorie and protein but not exactly the same (We are against recommending specific products from any particular company as a matter of policy, but we can answer questions if you really wish to know).
Why other companies in India do not make this kind of nutritious drink is beyond my understanding.2-3 days before the surgery you may have the drink twice daily as per the following instructions i.e. mentioned in the packet of the product. Bring this packet to the hospital to consume it on the day before surgery for additional nutrition. In hospital pharmacies you may not get this drink.
🤔 What if I don't follow these preparations before the surgery then what’ll be the effect on me?
👉🏽 If you’re not following these preparations that might not cancel or delay your surgery. But these life-changing habits build a significant resistance in the body.
👉🏽 If you follow each piece of advice, you will see the remarkable changes in yourself after a few months.
➤ If you take aspirin or clopidogrel (blood-thinning medications) for heart or other issues, you must inform your doctor. These medications might need to be stopped 5-7 days before the surgery. Because this medicine consumption can increase blood loss.
😟 What if the surgery is canceled or postponed?
👉🏽 Don't be disheartened. If your surgery is canceled or rescheduled, consider that you get more time to make yourself more fitter. Don't think that surgery cancellation means something went wrong, but think that this extra time may have given you a chance to achieve something new.
This is an impartial , unsponsored health information. For public awareness and not a replacement of Medical Advice.