LAUSR

A healthy 40-year-old woman donates a kidney to her child. Hours after surgery, she goes to her child’s bedside and is discharged the next morning. Conversely, an otherwise healthy 40-year-old woman has a nephrectomy for cancer. She is bedridden for days and is discharged a week later. Despite no complications, she requires opioids long after surgery and develops chronic pain syndrome. We have all experienced this phenomenon: 2 patients with the same risk profile, same surgery, even the same surgeon, who have completely different outcomes. The root of these differences has long been studied, with the majority of attention focused on preoperative conditions, perioperative complications, and other measurable factors. But perhaps, more than an albumin level or HgbA1C, positive psychology may help explain why some patients excel and others languish.