Seminar presentation about postoperative complication and their management

1. POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS AND THEIR
MANAGEMENT
Presented By: Abayneh Y.
Modulator: Dr. Mezigebu
1

2. OUTLINE
 INTRODUCTION
 DISCHARGE FROM POSTANAESTHETIC RECOVERY
 THE FIRST POSTOPERATIVE ASSESSMENT – WHEN
AND WHO?
 PROPHYLAXIS
 SYSTEM-SPECIFIC POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS
 GENERAL POSTOPERATIVE PROBLEMS
AND MANAGEMENT
2

3. INTRODUCTION
 Aim:
 To provide the patient with as quick, painless and safe
recovery from surgery as possible.
 Postoperative complications may either be general
or specific to the type of surgery undertaken and
should be managed with the patient's history in
mind.
3

4. CONT…
 General postoperative complications include:
 Postoperative fever
 Atelectasis
 Wound infection
 Embolism and
 Deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
4

5. CONT…
 Specific complications occur in the following
patterns:
 Immediate
 Early postoperative
 Throughout the postoperative period and
 In the late postoperative period
5

6. CONT…
 IMMEDIATE
 Primary haemorrhage
 Basal atelectasis: minor lung collapse.
 Shock: blood loss, acute MI, PE or septicaemia.
 Low urine output: inadequate fluid replacement intra-
operatively and postoperatively.
6

7. CONT…
EARLY
 Acute confusion
 Nausea and vomiting
 Secondary haemorrhage
 Pneumonia
 Wound infection
 Wound dehiscence
 DVT
 Acute urinary retention
 Urinary tract infection (UTI)
 Paralytic Ileus 7

8. CONT…
LATE
 Bowel obstruction due to fibrous adhesions.
 Incisional hernia.
 Persistent sinus.
 Recurrence of reason for surgery - eg, malignancy
8

9. DISCHARGE FROM POSTANAESTHETIC RECOVERY
 The patient can be discharged from the recovery
room when they fulfill the following criteria:
 Patient is fully conscious.
 Respiration and oxygenation are satisfactory
 Patient is normothermic, not in pain nor nauseous.
 Cardiovascular parameters are stable.
 Oxygen, fluids and analgesics have been prescribed.
 There are no concerns related to the surgical procedure.
9

10. 10

11. THE FIRST POSTOPERATIVE ASSESSMENT – WHEN
AND WHO?
 The first postoperative assessment should take place
immediately after surgery on return to the ward.
 It provides a baseline against which the patient’s
condition may subsequently be assessed and
identifies any problems that may have occurred on
transfer from the operating department.
11

12. CONT…
 The first postoperative assessment should determine:
 Intraoperative history and postoperative instructions
 Circulatory volume status
 Respiratory status
 Mental status.
12

13. PROPHYLAXIS
 The following postoperative treatment and
prophylaxis options should be discussed
preoperatively :
 Adequate pain control
 Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis
 Antibiotic prophylaxis
 Continuation of current medications
 Substitution of current medication (eg diabetic control,
steroid therapy)
13

14. CONT…
 Prophylaxis for postoperative nausea and vomiting
 Pressure area management.
Postoperatively, consider the need for:
 Physiotherapy
 Nutrition team consultation
 Oral hygiene.
14

15. SYSTEM-SPECIFIC POSTOPERATIVE COMPLICATIONS
15

16. SYSTEM-SPECIFIC POSTOPERATIVE
COMPLICATIONS
Respiratory complications
 The most common are hypoxemia, hypercapnia and
aspiration.
 Pneumonia and pulmonary embolism tend to appear
later in the postoperative period.
16

17. POSTOPERATIVE HYPOXIA
 Hypoxia is defined as an oxygen saturation of less
than 90 per cent.
 Present as shortness of breath or agitation or as
upper airway obstruction or cyanosis or as a
combination of any of the above.
 In obese patients or in those with acute or chronic
lung disease, hypoxia develops more quickly.
17

18. CONT…
 Hypoxia in the postoperative period may occur due to
a variety of reasons, for example:
 Upper airway obstruction due to the residual effect of
general anaesthesia,
 Laryngeal edema from traumatic tracheal intubation
 Atelectasis and pneumonia especially after upper
abdominal and thoracic surgery
 Pulmonary edema of cardiac origin or related to fluid
overload.
 Pulmonary embolism: this often presents with the sudden
onset of chest pain and shortness of breath.
18

19. CONT…
 Patients with hypoxia or imminent signs should be
treated urgently.
 If the patient is breathing spontaneously administer
oxygen at 15 L/min, using a non-rebreathing mask.
 A head tilt, chin lift or jaw thrust should relieve
obstruction related to reduced muscle tone.
 Suctioning of any blood or secretions and insertion of
an oropharyngeal airway may be needed. 19

20. CARDIOVASCULAR COMPLICATIONS
 Hypotension in the postoperative period can be
multifactorial like:-
 Inadequate fluid replacement,
 Vasodilatation from subarachnoid and epidural
anaesthesia
 Surgical bleeding, sepsis,
 Arrhythmias, myocardial infarction, cardiac failure,
 Tensionpneumothorax,
 Pulmonary embolism,
 Pericardial tamponade and
 Anaphylaxis
20

21. ASSESSMENT OF HYPOTENSION
21
 Awake or easily rousable
 Comfortable
 Normal preoperative BP
 Warm
 Well perfused (capillary refill
<2 seconds)
 Heart rate 60-100bpm
 Passing urine (>0.5 ml/kg/hr)
 No obvious bleeding
 Drowsy or unrousable
 Distressed
 Hypertensive preoperatively
 Cold
 Capillary refill >2 seconds
 Heart rate >100 or <60 bpm
 Oliguric (<0.5 ml/kg/hr)
 Signs of bleeding (drains,
wounds, haematoma)
Observe if: Seek further advice if:

22. MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA AND INFARCTION
 They commonly present with retrosternal pain
radiating into the neck, jaw or arms and may also
have nausea, dyspnoea or syncope.
 MI can be STEMI and NSTEMI.
 However, serum troponin levels will be high in both
types of MI.
22

23. CONT…
 Start treatment with
 Oxygen,
 Glyceryl trinitrate,
 Morphine and aspirin , and
 Involve a cardiologist.
 Beta-blockers and/or calcium antagonists may be
started to reduce further episodes of ischemia.
23

24. RENAL AND URINARY COMPLICATIONS
 Postoperative renal failure is associated with high
mortality.
 Patients with known chronic renal disease, diabetes,
liver failure, PAD and cardiac failure are at high risk.
 Perioperative events such as sepsis, bleeding,
hypovolaemia, rhabdomyolysis or abdominal
compartmental syndrome can all precipitate acute
renal failure.
24

25. CONT…
 Prophylactic measures to prevent renal failure should
be taken in high risk cases.
 Urinary retention and infection are a common
problem postoperatively.
25

26. 26

27. CONT…
 If urine output is less than 0.5 mL/kg per hour for 6
hours :-
 Check that the catheter is not blocked,
 Correct hypovolaemia,
 Correct metabolic and electrolyte disturbances, and
 Stop nephrotoxic drugs.
27

28. CONT…
 For UTI:-
 Treatment involves
 Adequate hydration,
 Proper bladder drainage and
 Antibiotics depending on the sensitivity of the
microorganisms.
28

29. COMPLICATIONS RELATED TO SPECIFIC
SURGICAL SPECIALTIES
Abdominal surgery
 The abdomen should be examined daily for excessive
distension, tenderness or drainage from wounds or
drain sites.
 The main complications after abdominal surgery
 Paralytic ileus
 Bleeding or abscess
 Anastomotic leakage
29

30. CONT…
 Return of function of the intestine occurs in the
following order:
 small bowel, large bowel and then stomach.
 This pattern allows the passage of faeces despite
continuing lack of stomach emptying and, therefore,
vomiting may continue even when the lower bowel
has already started functioning normally.
30

31. ORTHOPAEDIC SURGERY
 In patients who have undergone open reduction and
internal fixation of fractures, the neurovascular status
should be checked every half hour at least for 4 hours.
 Compartment syndrome
 Severe/greater than expected pain unresponsive to analgesia.
 The earliest sign is pain on passive stretching of muscles in the
affected compartment .
 Paralysis, paresthesia and pulselessness are very late signs.
31

32. Neck surgery
 e.g. Thyroid surgery, must be observed for
accumulation of blood in the wound, which may cause
rapid asphyxia.
Thoracic surgery
 Fluid intake should be restricted in patients
undergoing a lobectomy or pneumonectomy as they
are susceptible to fluid overload in the first 24–48
hours postoperatively.
Urology
 Catheter patency must be checked regularly following
urological surgery. 32

33. GENERAL POSTOPERATIVE PROBLEMS
AND MANAGEMENT
Nausea and vomiting
 Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) can
precipitate bleeding and dehiscence of wounds by
dislodging the clots and bursting suture lines.
 In neurosurgical patients, it may precipitate raised
ICP with disastrous effects.
33

34. RISK FACTORS
 Women, non-smokers or those who have a past
history of PONV,
 Motion sickness or migraine.
 Use of volatile anaesthetic agents, opioids and nitrous
oxide.
 Duration and type of surgery
34

35. TREATMENT
 Adequate treatment of pain, anxiety, hypotension and
dehydration will minimise the risk.
 Administer antiemetics, such as
 HT3 receptor antagonists (e.g. ondansetron),
 Steroids (e.g. dexamethasone),
 Phenothiazines (e.g. prochlorperazine),
 Antihistamines (e.g. cyclizine).
 At least one antiemetic should be given on a regular
basis in the high risk group of patients and a second
one written up to be given when needed. 35

36. BLEEDING
 If bleeding is more than expected for a given procedure,
then pressure should be applied to the site and blood
samples should be sent for blood count, coagulation
profile and cross match.
 Fluid resuscitation should also be started.
 All hospitals should have a major haemorrhage protocol in
place.
 Need to transfuse blood in the continued bleeding in
patients with Hb <8 g/dL.
 Minor bleeding in an airway can have a catastrophic effect 36

37. DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS
 Patients may present with calf pain, swelling, warmth,
redness and engorged veins.
 However, most will show no physical signs.
 On palpation, the muscle may be tender and there is a
positive Homans’ sign (calf pain on dorsiflexion of the
foot), but this test is neither sensitive nor specific.
37

38. TREATMENT
 Venography or duplex Doppler ultrasound is used to
assess flow and the presence of thromboses.
 If a significant DVT is found (one that extends above
the knee), treatment with intravenous heparin
initially, followed by longer-term warfarin, should be
started.
38

39. DVT PROPHYLAXIS
 Most hospitals have a DVT prophylaxis protocol.
 This may include;-
 The use of stockings,
 Calf pumps and
 Pharmacological agents, such as low molecular weight
heparin.
39

40. HYPOTHERMIA AND SHIVERING
 Anesthesia induces loss of thermoregulatory control.
 Exposure of skin and organs to a cold operating
environment,
 The infusion of cold I.V. fluids all lead to hypothermia.
 This, in turn, leads to
 Increased cardiac morbidity,
 A hypocoagulable state,
 Shivering with imbalance of oxygen supply and demand, and
 Immune function impairment with the possibility of wound
infection.
 Active warming devices should be used to treat
hypothermia as appropriate. 40

41. FEVER
 About 40 per cent of patients develop pyrexia after
major surgery; however, in most cases no cause is
found.
41

42. POSTOPERATIVE FEVER
Days 0-2:
 Mild fever (temperature <38°C) (common):
 Tissue damage and necrosis at the operation site.
 Haematoma.
 Persistent fever (temperature >38°C):
 Atelectasis: the collapsed lung may become secondarily
infected.
 Surgical site infection
 Blood transfusion or drug reaction.
42

43. CONT…
Days 3-5:
 Bronchopneumonia.
 Sepsis.
 Wound infection.
 Drip site infection or phlebitis.
 Abscess formation - eg, subphrenic or pelvic,
depending on the surgery involved.
 DVT.
43

44. CONT…
After 5 days:
 Specific complications related to surgery
 e.g.; Fistula formation.
After the first week:
 Haemorrhage
 Wound infection.
 Distant sites of infection - e.g., UTI.
 DVT, pulmonary embolus
44

45. CONFUSIONAL STATE
 Can occur on recovery from anaesthesia
(postoperative delirium (POD)) or a few days after
surgery.
 Incidence of POD is 5–15 per cent, but is higher in the
elderly with hip fractures and is associated with
increased morbidity and mortality
45

46. CAUSES OF CONFUSION
46

47. CONT…
 Confusion may present as anxiety, incoherent speech,
clouding of consciousness or destructive behavior,
 e.g. pulling out of cannula.
 Treating the underlying medical problems, and pain
control will be valuable.
 As a last option, haloperidol may be given in titrating
doses. 47

48. WOUND DEHISCENCE
 Wound dehiscence is disruption of any or all of the
layers in a wound.
 Occur in up to 3 per cent of abdominal wounds and is
very distressing to the patient.
 Occurs from the 5th to the 8th postoperative day when
the strength of the wound is at its weakest.
 The patient may have felt a popping sensation during
straining or coughing.
48

49. RISK FACTORS IN WOUND DEHISCENCE
General
 Malnourishment
 Diabetes
 Obesity
 Renal failure
 Jaundice
 Sepsis
 Cancer
 Treatment with steroids
49

50. CONT…
Local
 Inadequate or poor closure of wound
 Poor local wound healing, e.g. because of infection,
haematoma or seroma
 Increased intra-abdominal pressure, e.g. in
postoperative patients suffering from chronic
obstructive airway disease, during excessive
coughing. 50

51. CONT…
 Most patients will need to return to the operating
theatre for resuturing.
 In some patients, it may be appropriate to leave the
wound open and treat with dressings or vacuum-
assisted closure (VAC) pumps.
51

52. REFERENCES
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 Internet( slideshare.net )

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