[An experience nursing an uncertain patient with complications after bariatric surgery]

This article describes a nursing care case in which a 33-year-old housewife received laparoscopic bariatric surgery and developed complications requiring multiple subsequent hospital admissions. Throughout the course of treatment from June to September 2010, the patient repeatedly experienced anxiety, helplessness, and depression due to recurrent complications that resulted in her loss of confidence in the treatment provided by the surgical team. During her fourth hospitalization, the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Theory (MUIT) was applied to assess and establish the cause of her feelings of uncertainty toward her illness. Through a combination of reinforced emotional support, encouragement, disease consultation, individualized care measures, and improved doctor-patient communication, the patient's ability to care for herself improved and she regained confidence in control of her own physical condition. In addition, the active involvement of the patient's family throughout the course of treatment enabled her to persevere through the uncertain treatment period and successfully return to a normal life.