"Patients become willing participants in the procedure and take more control of their outcomes by using the tape to learn how to deeply relax before surgery."
MARY SUDDATH, RN, BSN Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah
Two years ago, Mary Suddath, RN, BSN, was facing surgery when an ad in a nursing journal grabbed her attention. It read: "Are you having surgery? Are you afraid?"
The ad went on to describe a workshop developed by psychotherapist Peggy Huddleston, whose methods were helping patients be less anxious before surgery, have less pain afterward and recover faster.
Suddath bought "Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster: A Guide of Mind-Body Techniques," the videotape touted in the ad. She used it to relax and practiced the visualization methods.
Her surgeon was impressed by the results. "He wanted me to take an Atavan the night before surgery so I'd be more relaxed, but I told him not to worry, I'd be very relaxed, and I was," she said.
Suddath, a pediatric intensive care nurse at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, has become certified to deliver "Prepare for Surgery" workshops in Georgia. She and fellow nurse Morag Duncan are helping surgical patients to better outcomes.
"Memorial Health is offering the workshop to its surgical patients for free as one of its health initiatives to encourage people to feel better," Suddath said. "We've been working with the day surgery unit, and the nurses there say that it has increased patient satisfaction."
"Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster" is an approach that helps patients prepare mentally, physically and spiritually for surgery. An analysis of 191 studies with 8,600 patients documents that people who prepared for surgery had less pain and fewer complications and recovered sooner.
"Patients become willing participants in the procedure and take more control of their outcomes by using the tape to learn how to deeply relax before surgery," Suddath said.
Instead of feeling anxious, patients learn to create mental images of places they find relaxing, such as the beach or the mountains. They also envision being with people they love and who love them.
"Feeling peaceful strengthens the immune system and creates the complex biochemistry that enhances healing," she said.
Patients take control by asking their surgeons and anesthesiologists to make encouraging statements about the surgery during and after the procedure. "All of our doctors, anesthesiologists and nurses have been willing to do this," Suddath said.
This verbal technique has been shown to reduce patients' use of pain medication by 23 percent to 50 percent, Suddath said. The statements also help promote supportive doctor/patient relationships.
Patients use the tape to relax twice a day for one or two weeks prior to surgery and learn to replace worries with healing imagery. They visualize doing things they'd like to do while healing and something that they'll do once they are recovered.
"When I do the workshop with people in person, they have their eyes shut, but they have big smiles on their faces by the end," Suddath said.
She also delivers the workshop over the phone, which has the benefit of making some patients feel less selfconscious. Suddath helped Guenavere Sandberg prepare for an aortic aneurism surgery in St. George, Utah.
"I put the phone on speaker phone and got down on the oor to relax," Sandberg said. "The experience was just fantastic. It's such a good service for Mary to give her time this way."
It worked for Sandberg.
"The effects were absolutely wonderful," she said. "When I got on that gurney, I was relaxed and happy. I love the concepts and the whole system and how it changed my outlook."
Suddath has adapted the program for expectant mothers and people taking chemotherapy, and she found it bene.cial for people coping with chronic illnesses. Suddath became certified to give the workshops in order to expand her horizons as a nurse.
"My work in pediatric ICU is very high-tech, with a lot of machines and medications," she said. "I believe that there is more than one way to help the body heal. This way seems very natural, and visualization really does make a difference in outcomes."