Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of early postoperative bathing within the framework of Enhanced recovery after surgery （ERAS） perioperative management. Methods A total of 156 patients who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy or cholecystectomy in the Department of General Surgery between December 2024 and May 2025 were included in the study. Based on the postoperative bathing protocol selected 24 hours after surgery， patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups： the early bathing-exposed group， the early bathing-covered group， or the control group. In the early bathing-exposed group， patients were permitted to bathe with the surgical incision uncovered 24 hours postoperatively. In the early bathing-covered group， sterile， waterproof dressings were applied to the incision site during bathing to maintain aseptic conditions. The control group followed conventional postoperative care guidelines， which restricted bathing until at least three days after suture removal. The outcomes， including the incidence of surgical site infection， postoperative complications， length of hospital stay， and follow-up data， were systematically recorded and analyzed across all three groups. Results Finally， 54 patients were included in the early bathing-exposed group， 52 in the early bathing-covered group， and 50 in the control group. No statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups in terms of baseline clinical characteristics， including gender， age， primary disease， comorbidities， body mass index （BMI）， surgical procedure， operative duration， or incision classification （all P > 0.05）. Similarly， postoperative comparisons of time to first bathing， incisional infection rates， complication incidence， and length of hospital stay showed no significant intergroup differences （all P > 0.05）. However， with respect to patient satisfaction during hospitalization， both early bathing groups reported significantly higher satisfaction scores compared to the control group， and these differences were statistically significant （all P < 0.05）. Conclusions Compared with the conventional principle of postoperative water restriction， early bathing does not increase the incidence of surgical site infection and contributes to improved patient satisfaction during hospitalization. This approach broadens the scope of early postoperative interventions within the ERAS protocol and warrants further clinical implementation.

Key words: early postoperative bathing, surgical site infection, enhanced recovery after surgery, perioperative management, hospitalization satisfaction