In our facility, chest physiotherapy has been routinely prescribed after abdominal hysterectomy surgery to avoid postoperative pulmonary complications. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an increased indicence of postoperative pulmonary complications, measured 72 hours post-surgery, existed in a nontreated control group as compared to a treated group who received standardized routine postoperative physiotherapy. Fifty-four patients booked for abdominal hysterectomy were randomly allocated into two groups. Group 1 (27 patients) received no physiotherapy and group 2 (27 patients) received physiotherapy once per day for 2 consecutive days postoperatively. Chest physiotherapy consisted of instruction in sustained maximal inspirations, initiated 5 times with a lateral costal breathing pattern and then initiated 5 times with a diaphragmatic pattern. Patients were also instructed in supported coughing technique. Patients were encouraged by the physiotherapist to perform these 10 consecutive breaths followed by 2 supported coughs, every hour whilst awake. Temperature, chest auscultation, and chest roentgenogram were used as outcome measures on the third postoperative day. A Chi-square test of the results revealed no statistically significant differences in the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications between the 2 groups. A Mann-Whitney U statistical test revealed median scores of zero in both groups when the results for chest roentgenogram, auscultation and pyrexia were evaluated (p < 0.05). We conclude that this form of physiotherapy does not influence the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in abdominal hysterectomy patients and that this practice should be discontinued.

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