Postoperative Complications - Clinical Guidelines for Nurses

These can vary from the mild side effects of surgery to major complications that may result in the death of a patient. Postoperative nursing care should involve closely monitoring the patient in order to identify early warning signs and prevent complications from occurring.

Complications vary depending on the surgery being performed, however, many are common across a variety of different procedures.

Nausea and Vomiting

Nausea and vomiting may seem insignificant but can be distressing for the patient (Gan et al. 2014) and delay their discharge home if uncontrolled (Rae 2016).

Postoperatively, expect about half of your patients to experience nausea and 30% to experience vomiting (Koutoukidis et al. 2017; Gan et al. 2014).