Preoperative care prepares patients for surgery, including meetings with the surgeon and anesthesiologist, developing a care plan, and drawing blood. On the day of surgery, patients are prepared with IV lines and anesthesia. Emergency surgery requires expedited care and informed consent rules may be suspended.
Preoperative care is assistance provided to prepare a patient for surgery. Nurses are typically the primary care providers, although an anesthesiologist may also be involved, and the surgeon usually monitors the patient during preoperative care to review the details of the surgery. The time frame can vary from weeks to minutes, depending on the circumstances surrounding the surgery.
When surgery is planned, preoperative care includes meetings with the surgeon to talk about the procedure and a meeting with the anesthesiologist to talk about anesthesia options. A care plan is developed for the patient, and the patient also receives information about aftercare, healing times, and other issues. Blood is drawn to make sure the patient is in good physical condition. All of these aspects of preoperative care can happen well in advance.
On the day of the surgery, after abstaining from food and drink, the patient enters the hospital and is prepared for the surgery. If the surgical site needs to be shaved, this will be done and the site may also be scrubbed in preparation for surgery. Intravenous lines are started to provide the patient with fluids and medications, as well as granting access to a vein for an emergency. Patients may be given anti-anxiety medications to relax, and when it’s time for surgery, the anesthesiologist induces anesthesia so that the surgery can begin.
With emergency surgery, preoperative care is expedited. Basic security protocols still need to be followed, but the process could be reduced to minutes. As much information as possible about the patient will be collected, with particular attention to the history of drug interactions. The patient’s blood is typed and an evaluation is done to see what needs to be done in the operating room. For unstable patients, nurses and other medical personnel work to stabilize the patient to make surgery safe.
Informed consent rules are sometimes folded or suspended in emergency procedures. Unconscious patients who have not been identified will be taken to surgery on the basis that if they could consent, they would probably agree to life-saving procedures. If family members, spouses or guardians are present, they can give consent for emergency surgery and any other life-saving measures. Detailed overviews of the procedure, along with the risks and benefits, may not be available, as sometimes surgeons don’t know enough about the case until the patient has been opened up on the table.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
