RECUPERATION AFTER HYSTERECTOMY
Information about recovery after hysterectomy is sometimes neglected in discussions between women and their doctors. Compared with the decision to have the operation and the demands of surgery, recovery may seem straightforward. Often, however, this does not prove to be the case.
The process of recovery from hysterectomy is extremely variable as illustrated by the experiences of Rosa and Denise, neither of whom had any postoperative complications. The day after her hysterectomy Rosa helped make beds in the hospital ward and, five days later, she was ready to leave. Within a few days she was doing all the housework and three weeks after surgery she was swimming and cycling. In contrast Denise was unable to leave her bed for fourteen days after her hysterectomy. She convalesced slowly at home and finally returned to work thirteen weeks after surgery. The variation in the physical recovery of Rosa and Denise demonstrates why it is difficult for a surgeon to provide a fixed schedule for post-operative recovery.
Women recover from hysterectomy at different rates for many reasons. These include the nature and severity of the problem for which the operation was carried out, the type of operation performed and the extent to which it interfered with various organs of the body, the skill of the surgeon, the general physical and psychological health of the woman pre-operatively and the effect of anaesthetic agents on her.
*53\198\4*
Leave a Reply