BACKGROUND: Undergoing surgery always involves various risks of complications, often depending on the type of surgery. Because of complications, a second surgical intervention, a reoperation, must occasionally be done, which in turn often causes an extended hospital stay, a longer recovery phase, greater suffering for the patient, and higher health care costs. Even though complications after general surgery are relatively common, little is known regarding patient experience of a reoperation. Knowledge of this could impact on care models in the future. The aim of this study was to describe patients' experience of acute, unplanned reoperation during a planned hospital stay.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A purposive sampling strategy was used, and 16 patients were included, all who had undergone acute unplanned reoperation during a planned hospital stay. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, and a content analysis with an inductive approach was used for data analysis.

RESULTS: The analysis resulted in two main themes: (1) health professionals' importance, having its foundation in categories trust and information, and (2) reaction, based on the categories anxiety and sadness.

CONCLUSIONS: Unplanned reoperation caused psychological, social, and existential reactions. Health care professionals were perceived as important because good communication, accurate information, their presence, and creating feelings of confident and safe care were meaningful factors for the patients as they managed the situation.