{"id":162814,"date":"2025-11-27T17:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/162814\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T17:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T17:06:08","slug":"canadian-seniors-struggle-to-recover-post-surgery-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/162814\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian seniors struggle to recover post-surgery: study"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new study warns of the serious post-op risk for seniors. Adrian Ghobrial looks at the experiences of older Canadians after major surgery. <\/p>\n

A new Canada-wide medical study has revealed that a troubling number of senior citizens are struggling to recover following surgery.<\/p>\n

More than 2,000 Canadian seniors, aged 65 and older, were enrolled in the national study by a team of doctors from across the country.<\/p>\n

Their investigation found that within the first six months following a major, noncardiac surgery, one in six are suffering from a new disability, while others may have died.<\/p>\n

Many are suffering and unable \u201cto think clearly, to take care of oneself, to be able to move around, to be able to engage with family, in social activities those were things they were not able to do,\u201d shared Dr. Duminda Wijeysundera, physician-scientist at St. Michael\u2019s Hospital, part of Unity Health Toronto, and one of the study\u2019s lead researchers. <\/p>\n

The road to recovery following a major abdominal surgery for 76-year-old Sandra Espinosa has been fraught with challenges. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy intestine exploded, which led to major, major infections,\u201d shared Espinosa. <\/p>\n

\"\"Sandra Espinosa Sandra Espinosa had surgery performed at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto. (Sandra Espinosa) <\/p>\n

In July, she had emergency surgery at a Toronto hospital due to a bowel loop, telling CTV News she went in praying for a good outcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the surgery, my heart stopped, I literally died on the table and was revived, thankfully. My hemoglobin count dropped, and I was spontaneously bleeding post-surgery, so I had to be given two life-saving transfusions,\u201d shared Espinosa.<\/p>\n

Four months later, Espinosa says she\u2019s still struggling to find her footing doing what used to be normal daily tasks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it difficult to stand up and wash dishes. Something that was so simple, but it\u2019s not simple for me anymore. I can\u2019t pick up my dogs anymore,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been really tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study has found that patients experiencing these newfound post-operation disabilities are six times more likely to suffer significant depression, while also being more than twice as likely to regret their decision to have surgery.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sandra Espinosa Sandra Espinosa had surgery performed at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto. (Sandra Espinosa) \u2018Patients need more information\u2019: senior<\/p>\n

However, researchers say there are some positives that have come out of the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeventy per cent of patients survive surgery, they\u2019re functional and that\u2019s great,\u201d said Wijeysundera. \u201cThough we still have a proportion, one in six, that struggle. We now understand how often that occurs so we can communicate with patients, we can have this discussion that we need to have more often before surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Toronto-based anesthesiologist believes more can be done to better prepare Canadians of all ages ahead of a major surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us would choose to run a marathon tomorrow without preparing, yet we get people to go through the very stressful and physical experiences of surgery, without much in the way of preparation,\u201d pointed out Wijeysundera.<\/p>\n

The researchers also found that patients and health-care providers need to reset post-surgery expectations. The study uncovered that it\u2019s taking the average senior in Canada three to six months to recover and function as they were before surgery.<\/p>\n

\u201cPatients need more information; it would have helped me greatly to have a better understanding of what I\u2019d be up against,\u201d said Espinosa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost died; I almost became a post-surgery statistic. Post-surgery is a long battle,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

Espinosa hopes that her story and this new study will kickstart vital conversations between Canadians and their doctors across the country.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sandra Espinosa Sandra Espinosa had surgery performed at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto. (Sandra Espinosa) <\/p>\n

With files from CTV News Senior Producer Kristen Yu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new study warns of the serious post-op risk for seniors. Adrian Ghobrial looks at the experiences of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[10787,103,397,396,61,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-162814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-healthcare","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}