Postoperative recovery after different orthopedic day surgical procedures

Orthopedic day surgery is common. Postoperative recovery may differ according to surgical procedures and personal factors. We studied postoperative recovery up to 2 weeks after different orthopedic day surgical procedures and tried to identify possible predictors associated with recovery. Three-hundred and fifty eight patients who had undergone knee arthroscopy or surgery to the hand/arm, foot/leg or shoulder were included. Data were collected on postoperative days 1, 7 and 14 using the Swedish Post-discharge Surgery Recovery scale, the emotional state, physical comfort and physical independence dimensions in the Quality of Recovery-23 and a general health question. Multiple linear regression was used to explore predictors of recovery. The shoulder patients experienced significantly lower postoperative recovery and general health 1 and 2 weeks after surgery compared to the other patient groups (p < 0.001). Significant predictors of recovery were age, perceived health and emotional status on the first postoperative day and type of surgery. Postoperative recovery after common orthopedic day surgical procedures varies and factors influencing it need to be further explored. The impact of a patient’s emotional state on recovery after day surgery can be of particular interest in this work. Post-discharge planning needs to be tailored to the surgical procedure.