Postoperative Activity Restrictions in Children

Postoperative activity restrictions minimize the risk of surgical complications and prevent stress on the operative site. In the pediatric population, surgeons may restrict school attendance, participation in playground or gym, and participation in contact sports or heavy lifting. Currently, surgeons give pediatric patients postoperative restrictions following routine pediatric procedures (laparoscopic appendectomy and inguinal hernia repair) without evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. However, there is considerable variability amongst surgeons. It is common practice to provide some level of postoperative restrictions, which are primarily based on the surgeon's experience.While many surgeons prescribe specific postoperative instructions, some recommend self-directed restrictions. Self-directed restrictions instruct that the child return to school and normal physical activity when they and parents feel they are able to do so. There is no evidence that this practice is associated with any adverse outcomes.

This study will utilize a convenience sample of pediatric patients treated at Beaumont Royal Oak and Troy for routine inguinal hernia repair and laparoscopic appendectomy. There will be two populations: patients undergoing the procedures (Patient population) and their parents/guardians (Parent population) who will be completing the postoperative survey. Both parents/guardians and children were enrolled.

The Principal Investigator will review the operating room schedule and identify patients who are scheduled for either of the two procedures. Parents and patients who are eligible to participate in the study will be approached, the study explained and voluntary consent obtained. The participants will be provided an information sheet detailing the study, the risks, and the benefits. The researchers will describe the two groups the participant can enroll in. If the parents decide to enroll their child in the study they will then choose to be in either the control group (physician-directed) or the variable group (self-directed). The control group will be those individuals who choose physician-directed instructions which detail that they can resume all normal activity 2 weeks after their procedure. The experimental group will be those individuals who choose self-directed instructions which specify that they may return to full activity when their pain is improving and the parent feels comfortable with them doing so. For each group, the family will be provided with discharge instructions, a copy of these discharge instructions are provided in the study documents. A parent or guardian will complete a postoperative survey 1-3 months post procedure. The survey will assess: time of pain medication, time to return to school, time to resume full activity, wound healing, postoperative complications, changes in pain, compliance with instructions, patient satisfaction, time parent took off from work, if additional childcare was needed following the procedure, and parental satisfaction with the procedure and postoperative instructions.