Surgery is stressful and risky enough. Why not do all that you can to help the process go all the more smoothly?
Warming Technique Study
The risk of infection in the surgery site is always a possibility even with all the modern advances and precautions taken with weight loss or various other surgeries. The Times of London has reported that one more measure may taken to reduce this side effect of surgeries. In the newspaper article, it made an important case for warming patients before, during and after surgery to help with the healing process and reducing the chance for infection. It mentioned pieces from the research publication, The Lancet, “that those warmed up before surgery had more than 60 percent reduced risk of postoperative wound infection and needed fewer antibiotics.”
The researchers studying the results from surgeries performed at the University Hospital of North Tees, Stockton-on-Tees, England. Their research involved 421 patients undergoing weight loss surgeries, breast surgeries, hernia surgeries and varicose-vein surgeries. These surgery groups were each divided in half – one group in each surgery category were given either warming all over or warming at the surgery site for at least thirty minutes prior to surgery while the comparable groups were no warming at all before surgery.
The Results of the Study
After the surgeries were performed, only twenty-one patients of the group undergoing the warming technique still suffered wound infections. With the group that underwent no warming, there was a higher rate of infection resulting in fifty-nine patients suffering. There is new research on colorectal surgeries that also show a reduction in the rate of infections postoperative.
Music Technique
A study conducted by music therapist, Helen Lindquist Bonny and a nurse anesthetist, Noreen McCarron suggests that music can be helpful to patients prior to surgeries. This study, which took place at the Jefferson General Hospital in Port Townsend, Washington, United States was observed on twenty-five types of patients. Music is what was listened to rather than the preparation of nurses and surgeons in the operating room. The chatter and quiet noise that normally sends anxiety levels in the patient upwards, was actually reversed by the sounds of music prior to operation.
American Health states that melodious music reduces blood pressure and the heart rates and also resulted in sedatives that are used before operation to calm a patient, only half of the sedative was necessary with the music. Another study that is similar in nature in the Federal Republic of Germany reveals a similar reduction in sedative. Music that has been used in these studies have been either classical or popular music contain even rhythms and tempos from the forties or the fifties. Harsh or unruly music was avoided for these studies. McCarron goes even as far as putting a number to the statistic by saying the calming effects of the music played before operating were equal to 2.5mg of Valium. Also of interest, patients listening to the music post-op seemed to feel better sooner and had a earlier release date from the hospital.
So if your physician has recently recommended surgery for weight loss or otherwise, try discussing the technique of warming with him or her. Also try to bring your music player with you so you can recover to your own beat and do it faster. Your physician does not always think of everything so discussing these things definitely won’t hurt. His or her respect for your rights as a patient should be a priority as well as your health care. By making the request by you to the physician, it now is part of your health care.