Perioperative

The perioperative period (not to be confused with peroperative period - during the course of the operation) is the time period of a patient's surgical procedure. It commonly includes ward admission, anesthesia, surgery, and recovery. Perioperative may refer to the three phases of surgery: preoperative, peroperative, and postoperative, although it is better used for the first and third of these only, that is 'around' the time of the surgery. The goal of perioperative care is to provide better conditions for patients before operation (sometimes construed as during operation) and after operation.[1]

Perioperative care

Perioperative care is the care that is given before and after surgery. It takes place in hospitals, in surgical centers attached to hospitals, in freestanding surgical centers, or health care providers' offices. This period is used to prepare the patient both physically and psychologically for the surgical procedure and after surgery. For emergency surgeries this period can be short and the patient may be oblivious to this; for elective surgeries 'preops', as they are called, can be quite lengthy. Information obtained during preoperative assessment is used to create a care plan for the patient.

Phases

Preoperative

The preoperative phase is used to perform tests, attempt to limit preoperational anxiety and may include the preoperative fasting.

Peroperative

The peroperative, or intraoperative, period begins when the patient is transferred to the operating room table and ends with the transfer of a patient to the postanaesthesia care unit (PACU). During this period the patient is peroperatively monitored, anaesthetized, prepped, and draped, and the operation is performed. Nursing activities during this period focus on safety, infection prevention, and physiological response to peroperative anaesthesia. Peroperative radiation therapy and peroperative blood salvage may also be performed during this time.

Postoperative

The postoperative period begins after the transfer to the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and terminates with the resolution of the surgical sequelae. It is quite common for the very last of this period to end outside of the care of the surgical team. It is uncommon to provide extended care past the discharge of the patient from the PACU.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Spry, Cynthia. Essentials of Perioperative Nursing. 3rd ed. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2005.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.