Altering patients' responses to surgery: An extension and replication

This study of 58 cholecystectomy and 57 herniorrhaphy patients was designed to determine the reliability of the effects of preoperative preparation on postoperative recovery that were observed in a previous study. The preoperative preparation consisted of information that focused on the typical subjective sensory experiences of surgical patients in combination with instruction in postoperative exercises. The effects of prehospital admission preparation, restatement postoperatively of preparatory information, and adding temporal orienting information to the preparatory information on postoperative course were also examined. The main results of the original study were replicated. In the cholecystectomy sample, the preoperative information intervention significantly reduced length of postoperative hospitalization and length of time posthospital discharge before patients ventured from home. Temporal orienting information reduced feelings of helplessness postoperatively in the cholecystectomy sample. Consistent with the original study, only trends for effects were observed in the herniorrhaphy sample.