“What is the recovery period for laparoscopic surgery?”
My husband is due for a laparoscopic surgery in 2 months. He quit smoking 3 months ago to prepare for the operation. What is the typical recovery period and what can make recovery take longer than normal?
11 Answers
SurgeonLaparoscopicSurgery
About 4-12 weeks. Recovery can take longer due to obesity and diabetes.
It depends on the surgery that is done. Some laparoscopic procedures are very simple and only require a week off form work with minimal lifting restrictions. Other more complex laparoscopic procedures may require 2 to 3 weeks off form work and a 10lbs lifting restriction for 6 weeks. Smoking increases the risk of poor wound healing, pneumonia, wound infections, and hernias. If you stop smoking, often the lungs are worse before they are better so although most things are better, the lungs may still be an issue. It is important to have a chest X-ray to rule out a pre-existing pneumonia. Any complication including bleeding, wound infections, poor wound healing, pneumonia, urinary tract infection, or prolonged pain can prolong the recovery period.
You did not say what the surgery was for. I will say this if he has stopped smoking he should not go back to smoking and no one in the home should be smoking. Any surgery will heal different on everyone. I will say with out knowing what type of surgery he is having it is hard to say. I would say talk to your doctor.
Congratulations for getting clear of smoking! This is the most important action he needs prior to surgery. The recovery depends on what operation he has. Laparoscopic surgery has generally less downtime that the open surgery.
Johann Potgieter
Surgeon
You are not saying what surgery but in general it ranges from 1-3 weeks. With common surgeries such as Gallbladder removal, appendicectomy, Inguinal hernia repair etc it is 1-2 weeks. Even for solid organ surgery such as Adrenalectomy and Splenectomy it is short and should be no more than 2 weeks. For more advanced surgeries such a colonic resection, pancreas and liver surgery, bile duct exploration etc it will be longer. Laparoscopic assisted hystectomy and sacro-colposuspension procedures and other pelvic floor surgery takes on average 3 weeks for recovery. If one has to do hard physical labour the off time will be 4 weeks.
It depends on the procedure, but usually one week.
Laparoscopic procedures are great in that they result in patients resuming a normal life much more quicker compared to open cases. Typically within 4 weeks the patients feel well, however if complications arise, then the course can be prolonged.
Smoking, taking steroids and getting infections are some of the common reasons for a longer recovery.
Smoking, taking steroids and getting infections are some of the common reasons for a longer recovery.
If he has a job/business, he can return in 7-10 days. Low-fat diet is important for 3-4 weeks.
Luis Teodoro Da Luz
Surgeon
Patients post laparoscopic surgery normally recover earlier than patients who had regular surgery, for the same diagnosis. The time for recovery varies depending on the procedure that is done. If he is going to get his gallbladder removed, he would be going back to normal life in less than 1 week.
Recovery from surgery largely depends on what the type of surgery it is, not necessarily that it is laparoscopic or not. Even though laparoscopic surgery is done through small incisions, a significant amount of work can be done inside of the abdomen. The incisions themselves are typically sore for about 2-4 weeks. In general recovery is much faster and easier than a traditional open operation. I would say that recovery can be anywhere from 10 days to 2 months depending on what is done.
“Laparoscopic surgery” is not a generic term with which one can ask the question you posed regarding recovery. A host of other factors are involved in computing such answer. Such factors include the age of the patient, the type of operation being planned within the abdomen, and ones preoperative risk factors, to name a few. Your husband has done himself a huge favor by quitting smoking several weeks in advance of his surgery. I would suggest you talk about the recovery with the surgeon who will be performing it. If he were to have a laparoscopic appendectomy or cholecystectomy, recovery would be a whole lot different than if the proposed surgery is a laparoscopic gastric bypass or laparoscopic colectomy. With regards to the risk factors that I mentioned, were he to have a colectomy because of multiple attacks of diverticulitis, the recovery would be a lot longer than it would be if he were having a colectomy for stage one or two colon cancer.
