What Is Prehabilitation?
Prehabilitation refers to the process of enhancing a patient's functional capacity before major surgery through exercise training, nutritional optimisation, psychological support and smoking cessation. The goal is to improve the patient's resilience to the physiological stress of surgery, reduce complications and accelerate recovery.
Why Prehabilitation Matters in Oncological Surgery
Major oncological surgeries (CRS+HIPEC, hepatectomy, gastrectomy, oesophagectomy, sarcoma resection) impose enormous physiological demands. Patients with better pre-operative functional capacity tolerate surgery better, experience fewer complications, leave hospital sooner and return to full activity faster. Randomised trials have demonstrated 30–50% reduction in complications with structured prehabilitation programmes.
Exercise Component
Aerobic exercise (walking, cycling, swimming) for 30–45 minutes, 4–5 times weekly during the pre-operative period. Resistance training to preserve muscle mass. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) shows particular benefit for cardiopulmonary reserve. Even 2–4 weeks of exercise before surgery produces measurable functional improvement.
Nutritional Component
Protein intake of 1.5–2g/kg/day. Oral nutritional supplements when dietary intake is insufficient. Immunonutrition formulas (arginine, omega-3, glutamine) for 7 days pre-operatively in malnourished patients. Optimisation of micronutrient status (iron, vitamin D, B12). Avoidance of prolonged pre-operative fasting.
Psychological Preparation
Informed consent conversations addressing surgical risks, expected recovery and realistic outcome expectations. Anxiety management through counselling or mindfulness. Social support mobilisation. Setting recovery goals.
Preparing for major oncological surgery? At Quenet Torrent Institute we provide a structured prehabilitation programme as part of our enhanced recovery pathway. Contact us.