Early physical therapy intervention in gynaecological surgery: “Case series”

PURPOSE: To implement a physical therapy intervention protocol targeting patients admitted for gynaecological surgery to the gynaecological ward of XXXX Hospital. METHOD: A prospective, cross-sectional and observational study was conducted with women admitted to the gynaecology ward, from June 2014 through June 2015. The study was divided into three phases with data on admissions to the gynaecology ward. A total of 565 women were included, corresponding to phases I (197), II (178) and III (190). The physical therapy staff implemented an early ambulation protocol as well as a mobility assessment. RESULTS: The physical therapy protocol was implemented, and the rate of adherence was 100%. All participants received preoperative instruction on the importance of early mobilisation. On postoperative day 1, the participants in phase I walked a mean of 77.4 m. Following implementation of the physical therapy protocol, the walked distance increased to 292.6 m in phase II, followed by a slight decrease to a mean of 233 m in phase III. CONCLUSIONS: The physical therapy protocol could be implemented, and the patients’ adherence was satisfactory. Early ambulation can be optimised, and the participants began ambulation starting at 13 h after surgery.