Surgical Care
Surgery, as defined by the American Medical Association, is the treatment
of disease, injury, or other disorders by direct physical intervention, usually
with instruments.
Surgery involves the cutting into the skin or other organ to accomplish
restoring the body to a healthful state. This may include further exploration
of the condition for the purpose of diagnosis, taking a biopsy of a suspicious
lump, or removing diseased tissues or organs.
Surgery may be conducted to remove an obstruction, reposition structures
to their normal position, redirect channels, or transplant tissue or whole
organs.
Surgery may be needed to implant mechanical or electronic devices; improve
physical appearance; repair an area that has been injured or affected by
trauma, overuse, or disease; restore proper function; or relieve pain. Many
people in the US face surgery every year, both elective and in cases of emergency.
When facing surgery, patients should expect to go through four phases. First,
surgical diagnosis is made after medical tests and evaluations reveal a condition
requiring surgery. Second, the preoperative management phase begins from
the time surgery is decided to the point when the patient is brought to the
operating room. Third, the intraoperative care phase lasts from the time
the patient enters the operating room to when the patient goes to the recovery
room. And fourth, the postoperative management phase lasts from entry to
the recovery room until follow-up clinical evaluation. |
