I have heard that it all depends on the shape you are in when you have the surgery.
I know of one woman who was back at work in 3 weeks. That was really short, but she was a driven Marketing type, and trim and fit, and younger. She still looked exhausted.
I had a laparoscopic procedure too. I was out for 12 weeks and was none too ready to return to work then. For the first 6 weeks I didn’t even have enough energy to watch TV. It’s amazing how much energy it takes to be a passive viewer or listener, when you don’t have any. That whole time, I didn’t have the stamina to read a book. It was a good 6 months before I got my strength all the way back.
I would not dare count on recovery in two to three weeks. For one thing, there was a point after about 4 weeks—ask your doctor about this—when in the process of tightening up, the affected tissue suddenly hurt so bad that it felt like I was being cut to ribbons from the inside. There was some bleeding then, too. I thought I was dying and was scared silly. That lasted for several days, and I would have been useless in the workplace until it passed.
That 12-week recuperation period, by the way, was planned in advance with the advice of my doctor. It wasn’t a week-to-week decision. If it had been, I’d have gone back too soon. I took the warning, for once in my life, that if you rush back too quickly you can end up being out of commission much longer.