Two-thirds of the studies found that patients who suffered surgical complications had significantly worse postoperative psychosocial outcomes even after controlling for preoperative psychosocial outcomes , clinical and demographic factors .
Surgical complications appear to be a significant and often long-term predictor of patient postoperative psychosocial outcomes .
The results highlight the importance of attending to patients ' psychological needs in the aftermath of surgical complications
OBJECTIVE Surgical complications may affect patients psychologically due to challenges such as prolonged recovery or long-lasting disability .
Psychological distress could further delay patients ' recovery as stress delays wound healing and compromises immunity .
This review investigates whether surgical complications adversely affect patients ' postoperative well-being and the duration of this impact .
The negative effects of surgery persist beyond the early postoperative period after laparoscopic colorectal resection
Purpose The recovery benefits of laparoscopy are traditionally believed to minimize the initial negative impact of surgery on early postoperative quality of life ( QOL ) . We evaluate whether laparoscopic colectomy leads to recovery of QOL early after surgery and evaluate factors associated with the change in QOL . Methods Preoperative and early postoperative QOL data ( SF-36 ) were prospect ively accrued for patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal resection ( LCR ) ( 2002–2009 ) . Changes in postoperative QOL from preoperative values and effects of patient , disease , operation and postoperative outcomes on these changes were evaluated . Results One hundred and sixty-six patients ( female = 86 ) underwent LCR for cancer ( n = 79 ) , Crohn ’s disease ( n = 24 ) , diverticulitis ( n = 38 ) , and ulcerative colitis ( n = 25 ) with complete SF-36 scores . Median age was 56.9 ( range : 15–91 ) years , mean body mass index 27.4 ± 6.2 kg/m2 with American Society of Anesthesiologists ( ASA ) class being II in 94 patients . Median operative time was 152.5 ( range : 50–358 ) min ; mean length of stay ( LOS ) 4.5 ± 3.3 days . At 4 weeks , the postoperative SF-36 physical component scale ( PCS ) continued to be lower than the preoperative PCS ( 41.8 ± 8.8 vs. 47.1 ± 9.4 , P < 0.001 ) , while the postoperative SF-36 mental component scale ( MCS ) was similar to the preoperative MCS ( 45.6 ± 10.2 vs. 46.1 ± 11.9 , P = 0.17 ) . Gender , age , operation , LOS , surgeon , ASA , BMI , complications , and readmission were not associated with a change in QOL from preoperative values . Cancer as an indication for surgery was associated with less improvement of MCS and PCS ( P = 0.024 and 0.004 , respectively ) . Conclusions Although patients who undergo LCR may have clinical evidence of healing at 4 weeks after surgery , QOL does not return to the preoperative level . This finding may help develop evidence -based recommendations pertaining to timing of return to full activity
Two-thirds of the studies found that patients who suffered surgical complications had significantly worse postoperative psychosocial outcomes even after controlling for preoperative psychosocial outcomes , clinical and demographic factors .
Surgical complications appear to be a significant and often long-term predictor of patient postoperative psychosocial outcomes .
The results highlight the importance of attending to patients ' psychological needs in the aftermath of surgical complications
OBJECTIVE Surgical complications may affect patients psychologically due to challenges such as prolonged recovery or long-lasting disability .
Psychological distress could further delay patients ' recovery as stress delays wound healing and compromises immunity .
This review investigates whether surgical complications adversely affect patients ' postoperative well-being and the duration of this impact .