Integrative Complementary Medicine for Treatment of Bariatric Perioperative Symptoms: Patients' Experiences and Staff Evaluations.
BACKGROUND
A unique integrative complementary medicine (CM) pilot program was launched in a general surgery department at a public teaching hospital in Israel. In addition to standard supportive care, CM treatments are used to support patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in coping with perioperative distresses. We examined the experiences of patients and how the nursing staff evaluate these treatments.


METHODS
Qualitative semi-structured open-ended interviews were used.


RESULTS
Most patients reported that the treatments helped them to cope better with preoperative anxiety, and facilitated postoperative breathing and pain relief. Nurses reported that CM treatments enabled them to reduce doses of analgesics. Both patients and nurses suggested that preoperative CM treatment facilitated a better postoperative CM-associated outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
Integrative perioperative CM treatments improved pain and anxiety care in patients undergoing LSG. More research is needed to examine CM efficacy in improving standard LSG perioperative supportive care and to evaluate cost effectiveness.
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Western Galilee Academic College , Akko, Israel .
Yael
Y
Keshet
Complementary/Integrative Surgery Service, Bnai Zion Medical Center , Haifa, Israel .
Samuel
S
Attias
Lin Medical Center , Clalit Health Services, Haifa and Western Galilee District, Israel .
Eran
E
Ben-Arye
PACU Service, Bnai Zion Medical Center , Haifa, Israel .
Miri
M
Shaham
Surgery Department, Bnai Zion Medical Center , Haifa, Israel .
Ofra
O
Grimberg
Internal Medicine Department, Bnai Zion Medical Center , and The International Center for Health, Law & Ethics, Haifa, Israel .
Elad
E
Schiff