The recovery time after surgery, depending on a person’s age and health, is an important part of the overall surgical experience. The ease, or difficulty, in which a person moves through recovery time can determine the success of the surgery, and overall health afterward. We all know how much a surgery can affect us, especially as our bodies’ age and take more time to heal. Hopefully though, with the right tips and a smart routine, you can avoid additional surgery that may be required.
Surgery complications may occur within the first weeks, so it’s wise for patients to be thoroughly prepared. Many have a tendency to make the bulk of their surgery preparations on the day of surgery, while neglecting to make similar preparations afterwards.
Predicting Recovery Is an Inexact Science
Surgeons are constantly faced with the task of trying to evaluate the outcome of a patient’s surgery. For the most part, the usual means of evaluation are crude. The normal standard for estimating the length of a hospital stay and mortality are different and elusive for patients over 40 years of age. However, doctors are now able to give answers that are more informative to older patients and their families about a particular operation. Know that your particular case may take longer or shorter depending on your health, rest, and age. Take it easy and know the signs for when you feel well enough to get back to normal.
Recovery Indicators
There is no exact prediction for an elderly patient’s recovery time. However, there are indicators that can help determine the difficulty for recovery, like weight loss in the past year, the strength of the patient’s grip, over-exhaustion, and a patient’s level of physical activity.
Using this information, doctors are able to assign a score from 1 to 5: Zero to 1 gives the patient a passing grade for a robust recovery; 2 to 3 determines that a patient is intermediately frail, and a score of 4 to 5 labels a patient as being frail.
According to the Courtyard at Jamestown, an assisted living in Orem, UT, frail patients have far less reserve to help them recover quickly. The results are obvious. People, considered frail, are much more likely to risk poor outcomes after surgery. The odds of a patient being assigned to a rest, nursing, or assisted living home, is also rise in proportion to their level of frailty.
Families and elderly patients should routinely ask doctors if a patient is too frail for surgery. A surgeon can give an honest assessment, but it’s still up to family members or the patient to decide on the surgery. There are simply too many critical factors for a lay person to consider. After assessing the situation in terms of surgical costs, state of health, and recovery time, individuals and their families can make a better-informed decision.
