Abstract

Throughout the world millions of patients undergo surgery each year, the burden of surgical disease being greatest
in Africa, where operations could save many lives. An extensive range of procedures are available to treat patients
who require surgical intervention. A crucial part of the patient’s experience, irrespective of the type of procedure, is
postoperative recovery. Given the importance of the postop period, and the number of factors that may affect postop
recovery involved, this study was about the factors affecting post-operative recovery at Fort Portal Regional
Referral Hospital (FPRRH). A cross sectional descriptive study design that involved 384 post-surgical patients at
FPRRH was used whereby the incidence of delayed postop recovery/prolonged postop hospital stay was about 8%
with (overweight, underweight or obese), comorbidities, older age (> 60 years) and low socioeconomic standing all
significantly associated with delayed postop recovery and a prolonged postop hospital stay.