Pre-Post Surgery Preparation and Recovery Support

“Those who prepare before will succeed in their recovery”

Sophia Kupse MSc

Prehabilitation is the medical term used to help prepare a person psychologically and physically before surgery with the aim of improving their post-operative outcomes (Ditmyer et al.2002). 

Prehabilitation is all about good preparation for your body and mind prior to surgery. There is now growing evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach. It has been proven that prehabilitation could lead to improvement in your postoperative pain, with the need for less pain medication, help reduce your length of stay in hospital and minimise post-operative complications (Santa Mina et al. 2014).  

With long NHS waiting lists for surgery, the time before your surgery is the ideal period to apply some simple, effective steps that can help to improve your physical and mental health. Prehabilitation reduces the risk of complications after surgery and improves your wellbeing, before and after whilst you’re in recovery.

Sophia has developed an evidence-based ‘Pre-Post Surgery Preparation and Recovery Support’ programme delivered by its founder, a highly experienced mentor and leads the 1:1 programme. She guides and supports you through every process of your personalised plan which is developed in your pre-assessment appointment. The personalised plan is created to successfully help you achieve the best outcome possible pre-and post-surgery. Bespoke mind and body exercises specifically targeted to support the agreed plan help achieve the highest possible effectiveness of the programme outcome (Chmelo et al. 2021). Self-reflection is incorporated in each session, a key component in mindset and behaviour change. 

It is well documented in medical journals that a person builds up fear worrying and catastrophing whilst awaiting their surgery. Worrying about the underlying diagnosis, surgery, anesthesia, pain, survival and recovery are all common concerns. These are called psychosocial stressors which produce symptoms of surgical stress response (Kiecolt-Glaser et al. 1998). This stress response can increase your blood pressure, raise anxiety, impact your sleep, allow you to emotionally comfort eat, increase your alcohol intake which can all help you gain weight. According to NHS England, in 2022 a third of on-the-day cancellations were due to people not being clinically ready for treatment, such as having a long-term condition including diabetes or high blood pressure which has not been diagnosed or properly managed.

The main aim of the ‘Pre-Post Surgery Preparation and Recovery Support’ programme is the psychological support embedded in the mindset and behaviour change processes that have two major benefits. Firstly, to reduce psychological distress and anxiety associated with diagnosis and surgery, both of which contribute to greater postoperative pain, delayed recovery, postoperative complications and impaired wound healing. Secondly, to maximise a persons’ motivation and empower them to comply with the exercise and nutritional aspects of the programme (Banugo and Amoako 2017).

The 1:1 programme, allows you to have your own bespoke plan created by Sophia specifically to meet your health needs. The same framework is followed as the digital ERASE Pain Programme, but at a deeper level. Various techniques and tools are used to gain the most effective results, such as, providing sensory information (i.e. what the perioperative experience will feel like), cognitive interventions, e.g. development of positive attitudes, behavioural instruction on what can be done to improve outcome learning using relaxation and breathing techniques from guided meditation. 

Other interventions of benefit include providing procedural information (i.e. details regarding all aspects of the patient journey) and emotion-focused interventions involving the discussion of emotions (Johnston and Vögele 1993). These processes are covered and evidenced within Sophia’s pre-post-surgery programme section of EPP.

If you would like more information about working directly with Sophia on this programme, please contact Sophia.