Short convalescence after inguinal herniorrhaphy with standardised recommendations: Duration and reasons for delayed return to work

Objective: To provide a detailed description of post-herniorrhaphy convales cence. Design: Prospective, descriptive, consecutive questionnaire case series. Setting: Public university hospital. Denmark. Patients: 100 consecutive patients treated for inguinal hernia. Intervention: Elective open inguinal herniorrhaphy under local anaesthesia. One day convalescence for light/ moderate and three weeks for strenuous ph ysical activity was recommended. Main outcome measure: Duration of absence from work or main recreational ac tivity. Results: Overall median absence (including the day of operation) was 6 days (interquartile range 1-16). For unemployed patients it was 1 day (0-7), fo r patients with a light or moderate workload 6 days (3-12), and for those w ith a heavy workload 25 days (21-37). Among the 64 patients, who did not fo llow the recommendations, pain was contributory in 33 and advice from the g eneral practitioner in 12. Pain was the main cause of impairment of activit ies of daily living. Conclusion: Well-defined recommendations for convalescence may, together wi th improved management of postoperative pain, shorten convalescence; they a re essential in the evaluation of effects of different surgical techniques of hemiorrhaphy on convalescence.