Which preoperative therapy is used for abdominal surgery?

• A. Hyperinflation therapy (IS, IPPB)
• B. Bronchodilator inhaler as needed
• C. Chest percussion
• D. Antibiotics only

Answer: (A)

Maximizing lung expansion before abdominal surgery helps prevent postoperative atelectasis and respiratory complications, since abdominal procedures reduce diaphragmatic movement and encourage shallow breathing due to pain. Hyperinflation therapy, including incentive spirometry and intermittent positive pressure breathing, directly promotes lung volume recruitment. By practicing deep, sustained breaths with incentive spirometry and using assisted inflation with IPPB when needed, the lungs are better inflated before surgery and patients are already skilled at deep breathing afterward, lowering the risk of alveolar collapse and pneumonia.

Bronchodilator inhalers as needed don’t serve as a universal preoperative lung-expansion strategy for abdominal surgery. Chest percussion aids secretion clearance but is more of a treatment for existing secretions rather than a preventive lung expansion approach. Antibiotics alone don’t address lung inflation or atelectasis risk.