Postoperative Care and Review of Complications

This chapter is an overview of the management of a patient who has undergone a surgical procedure in an outpatient setting. It addresses the complications that are most common in this setting and their management. Without attempting a thorough discussion of every conceivable complication, this discussion seeks nonetheless to be reasonably comprehensive. Perhaps the most straightforward means of presenting this information is to follow chronologically the patient's experience from the moment the procedure has been concluded, through his recovery room care, and finally look at the patient's needs and experiences after leaving the ambulatory care facility.