the physiotherapist guided the patient when walking and recorded the walking distance. After
that, the patient was instructed to walk and record the walking distance independently (if
possible). The objective of the protocol was to walk a distance of 1 km on postoperative day
5. A predefined track in a hospital corridor was used to allow precise recording of the walking
distance. Contraindications for enforced walking were: (1) haemodynamic instability (i.e.
heart frequency at rest >100 or