Mathieu D’Hondt, liver and pancreas surgeon: “We have always aimed for the patient to return home after the operation with physiotherapy and an adjusted diet. But I think the step before is at least as important. There are fewer complications and the patients usually spend less time in the hospital. They also cope better with the operation.”
From October he wants to test his project on 100 to 150 patients, in order to further expand his study and later fully implement it.
Mathieu D’Hondt: “When patients come for a consultation, we first send them to the cardiologist to see what they can do themselves. Then they go to the sports doctor and a tailor-made program is made in which we incorporate cycling and strength training as the most important physical activities.”
“We will work with the figures from the study and then publish them in a scientific article. We hope to use this to go to the government to get a refund. It costs money, but it will also yield much more if you prepare patients in this way.”
