[Prehabilitation and enhanced recovery after surgery: a continuum for the benefit of the patient]

Improved recovery after surgery leads to a significant reduction in postoperative morbidity, but this is concentrated in the intra- and postoperative periods. Prehabilitation complements this, by taking charge of the pre-operative phase. Its aim is to improve pre-operative functional capacity and physical, nutritional and psychosocial status. Interdisciplinary collaboration is a key element of this integrated approach.

[Adapted physical activity as part of the pre-habilitation program]

Adapted physical activity (APA) is one of the pillars of prehabilitation. The creation and personalization of an APA program is based on an assessment carried out by the APA teacher, who identifies the patient's obstacles and levers. The aim of this personalized program assessment is to support the person being cared for in adopting a more active and less sedentary lifestyle, and to ensure that these changes have a positive impact on their health. Relying on resources in the city and on the patient's caregivers are all ways of reinforcing the patient's adherence to APA.

Evidence-Based Prehabilitation

Prehabilitation is essential for optimizing post-operative outcomes. In addition to the benefits in terms of improved functional capacity, it leads to a significant reduction in medical and surgical complications, as well as shorter hospital stays. Multimodal interventions, including adapted physical activity and nutritional management, offer the most promising results. However, the diversity of protocols and the non-effectiveness of some of them highlight the importance of identifying the most interesting ones, in order to improve the effectiveness of this approach in surgery.

[The added value of a patient pathway nurse coordinator in prehabilitation and rehabilitation in surgery]

The nurse coordinator works within a healthcare network to ensure the continuity and quality of the care provided to patients. They act as the interface between medical, paramedical and social care. In some departments, they coordinate the surgical prehabilitation and enhanced rehabilitation program, which aims to optimize the physical, nutritional and psychological state of each patient prior to major surgery. Knowing how to guide patients and their families, advise them and re-explain the medical prescription for discharge sheds light on their situation and reassures them, while enabling them to plan their discharge.

["The pre-habilitation sessions gave me confidence"]

Aged 45, married with two children, Marc has always lived a "healthy" lifestyle: no cigarettes, a balanced organic diet and regular exercise. He had never experienced any serious health problems until January 2023, when symptoms led him to seek medical advice. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He tells us about his journey since then.

[Patient motivation and prehabilitation: assessment often overlooked]

Prehabilitation, which is still in its infancy, is becoming an essential part of oncology treatment. Motivation assessment is crucial for adherence to these programs, which aim to optimize functional capacity before and during the intensive phases of treatment. To date, healthcare teams have had little experience of assessing motivation, which is a weakness in the care strategy. This is partly due to a lack of standardized models and a delay in caregivers changing their position in response to changes in patient' motivations. In this article, we invite to discuss the 'why' and 'how' of motivational assessment in patients undergoing prehabilitation.

[Prehabilitation through physical activity in oncology]

It has now been established that preoperative physical activity plays an essential role in minimizing postoperative complications. Patients who have undergone physical preparation recover their preoperative abilities more quickly. However, only about a third of those with access to such preparation report an improvement in their physical abilities. The modalities of intervention and follow-up, such as the training load and the generic format of the proposed sessions, seem to hinder patient participation in these programs, thus explaining the mixed results. In this context, it seems necessary to individualize prehabilitation in order to improve the functional capacities of people in this phase or in the phase of accelerated recovery after treatment or surgery.

[Prehabilitation, therapeutic innovation]

The concept of prehabilitation emerged in the United States in the 1940s to maintain the performance of American soldiers notably through good nutrition and sport. It was then a question of optimising the patient's health status in a pre-treatment situation and reducing surgical stress. The specific collaborative programme Proadapt, comprising multiprofessional expertise, was put in place for elderly patients in 2016.