Prehabilitation in Colorectal Cancer Surgery Reduces Complications, Length of Stay, and Hospital Costs

Implementation of a multimodal prehabilitation program in colorectal surgery reduces postoperative complication rates, length of stay, and hospital costs. A study conducted in a regional Dutch hospital included 196 patients who completed prehabilitation and 390 patients who received standard care. The prehabilitation group had lower overall complication rates (31% vs. 40%) and severe complication rates (20% vs. 31%), as well as a shorter length of stay (5.80 days vs. 6.71 days). Hospital cost savings were €1109 per patient, outweighing the investment for prehabilitation (€969).