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No Benefit for Activity Restriction Post Prolapse Surgery

Equal satisfaction for women instructed to liberally resume activities, restrict postoperative activities

WEDNESDAY, March 15, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For women undergoing reconstructive prolapse surgery, satisfaction is similarly high three months after surgery for those instructed to liberally resume activities and for those instructed to restrict their activities, according to a study published in the April issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Margaret G. Mueller, M.D., from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues randomized women undergoing reconstructive prolapse surgery to liberal versus restricted postoperative activity recommendations (45 and 50 women, respectively). Liberal recommendations instructed women to resume postoperative activity at their own pace, while restricted recommendations instructed women to avoid heavy lifting or strenuous exercise for three months. Patient satisfaction was assessed as the primary outcome on a 5-point Likert scale three months postoperatively.

The researchers found that the rates of satisfaction were similarly high in the groups (98 percent in the liberal group versus 94 percent in the restricted group; odds ratio, 0.36 [95 percent confidence interval, 0.036 to 3.55]; P = 0.619). There was no difference between the groups in anatomic outcomes; in the liberal group, fewer pelvic floor symptoms were reported.

“Satisfaction was equally high three months after prolapse surgery in women who were instructed to liberally resume activities compared with those instructed to restrict postoperative activities,” the authors write. “Allowing women to resume their normal activities postoperatively may result in improved pelvic floor outcomes.”

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