• C Debes, M Aissou, and M Beaussier.
• Département d'anesthésie-réanimation chirurgicale, hôpital St-Antoine, université Pierre et Marie-Curie Paris 6, hôpitaux universitaires Est-Parisiens, AP-HP, 184, rue du Faubourg-St-Antoine, 75571 Paris cedex 12, France.
• Ann Fr Anesth Reanim. 2014 Jan 1;33(1):33-40.

ObjectivePrehabilitation consists in providing a repetitive physical exercise before surgery to improve the postoperative recovery course. This review aims to evaluate the feasibility and the expected benefits of prehabilitation on the postoperative recovery course and the reduction of the postoperative morbidity.Data SourcesData research has focused on English-language articles in the Medline database, published from 1989 to 2013. Keywords, used separately or in combination, were: prehabilitation, functional capacity, postoperative morbidity, physical activity.Study SelectionSelected articles were original articles, clinical cases, review articles and meta-analysis.Data ExtractionArticles were analyzed for feasibility, benefits and limitations of preoperative physical preparation techniques.Data SynthesisPoor preoperative functional status is associated with increased postoperative morbidity. Elderly are more prone to postoperative complications. The improvement of preoperative physical status of these patients is possible and may reduce morbidity and allow faster recovery after major surgery. In order to improve efficiency, the training program must provide endurance and muscle reinforcement exercises, whose intensity must be adapted to the patient's baseline physical abilities. An average of three sessions per week over a period of six to eight weeks before surgery seemed a good compromise between feasibility and effectiveness.ConclusionThe effectiveness of prehabilitation has been demonstrated in cardiovascular surgery and probably in abdominal surgery. Prehabilitation must be integrated into the overall patient medical management, and must be associated with preoperative refeeding and postoperative rehabilitation protocols. By optimizing all stages of the surgical patient management, from diagnosis to recovery, prognosis of high-risk surgical patients could be improved.Copyright © 2013 Société française d’anesthésie et de réanimation (Sfar). Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

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