Injuries are almost always unexpected, but what if they weren’t?
Imagine this scenario: You meet a fortune-teller who tells you that soon you’ll suffer a deep wound to your abdomen. The fortune-teller reassures you that your chances of surviving this injury are 99.99%. She also explains that although you can’t avoid the injury, you have four weeks to prepare for this inevitable event. What would you do?
You might ask the fortune-teller what the risks are of the upcoming injury. How much pain should you expect to have? How long will the injury take to heal? What sort of complications might occur? What can you do to prevent complications? You may begin to worry about the injury and experience stress and anxiety leading up to the day the injury is set to occur. You might worry about that 0.01% chance of not surviving.
You’ll likely plan on taking time off to recover, make arrangements for family responsibilities such as childcare and housekeeping, and make sure you have everything you’ll need at home for your recovery period.
This scenario may seem far-fetched, but in reality, it isn’t at all. Surgery is a sterile, controlled bodily injury. According to the American College of Surgeons, 15 million Americans have some kind of surgery every year, averaging 9.2 procedures per lifetime.
Most people don’t do much to prepare themselves for surgery beyond following the basic preop instructions they receive. Many patients don’t realize that preparing themselves for surgery can significantly impact how well and quickly they recover. So what can patients do to prepare themselves for surgery, and how will this preparation improve their outcome, healing, and recovery?
Reducing the risk of complications
All surgeries carry some risk of complications, and many are specific to the type of surgery involved. Factors that affect operative risk can be classified as disease-related, patient-related, surgery-related, system-related, and other random factors. What patients can do to prepare and reduce the risk of complications will focus on modifiable patient-related factors.
There are a few complications that are common to all surgeries, and these are infection, blood clots, abnormal bleeding, and delayed healing. Patient-related risk factors contributing to these complications include smoking, blood sugar, nutrition, and medication use. At the very least, steps that anyone having surgery can take to reduce the risk of these complications include quitting smoking, managing their blood sugar, eating a healthy diet, and following instructions on medication use.
Managing stress, anxiety, and pain
Another feature common to almost everyone and every surgery is the experience of stress, anxiety, and pain. The scenario described at the beginning of this post is pretty close to how many people feel about having surgery – being told an injury will occur and that they can’t avoid it. But they can manage the stress and anxiety they are feeling and develop tools and plans for managing pain. The benefits are far more significant than most people realize.
Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, which occurs when one experiences stress and pain, can significantly impact healing due to the release of cortisol and catecholamines. Cortisol is the hormone that regulates the level of glucose in the bloodstream. Increased blood sugar increases the risk of infection and impairs wound healing. Catecholamines like epinephrine and norepinephrine act on tiny blood vessels by constricting blood flow – further impairing wound healing and increasing infection risks.
Other alterations in the immune system that occur in response to stress disturb healing by releasing substances known to increase inflammation and interfere with tissue repair. Having tools and a plan for managing stress, anxiety, and pain will reduce your risk of infection and delayed healing.
Improve healing
Another action you can take in preparing for surgery is promoting your body’s natural healing capacity. Your body has the innate knowledge and ability to heal, and you can promote and support this healing ability through the use of affirmations, imagery, and visualization. These processes strengthen and support neural pathways in the body and the brain associated with healing and wholeness.
Affirmations are positive statements you repeat to yourself, manifesting the desired experience, goal, or end result you desire. Positive affirmations are stated in the present and are best when simple, specific, and direct. An example of a positive affirmation is “I heal fully and completely.” Positive affirmations can be written down, stated aloud, and recorded for future listening.
Imagery and visualization involve creating images and scenes that focus on constructing a vision of your desired end result. Guided imagery is a technique that uses all five senses to develop imagined or remembered scenes associated with relaxation, healing, and wholeness. Visualization can be used to construct a detailed story of a positive experience before, during, and after the surgery.
Surgery often leaves people feeling they have little or no control over their situation. While it is true that much of what happens throughout surgery is beyond your control, there is a lot you can do to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the best surgical experience possible. Optimizing health to reduce risks of complications, managing stress, and anxiety, and promoting the body’s ability to heal are three simple steps you can take to improve your surgery and experience the best possible outcome.
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I offer several tools and resources for preparing for surgery on my website Welloverall.com. These include the ebook Using Guided Imagery to Prepare For Surgery and a list of links to online resources for guided imagery, meditation and mindfulness, and relaxation techniques.
I am now launching my first online course Using Mind-Body Practices to Prepare For Surgery. This course is free and a link will be available on the website. Please visit my website often, as I add more courses, ebooks, links, and information on ways to improve and maintain your health and help you prepare for surgery.
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