Understanding Medical Surgical Nursing Chapter 12

Emergency - Immediate surgery needed to save life or limb Example of emergency surgery - Aneurysm, ruptured appendix, traumatic limb amputation, loss of extremity pulse from emboli Urgent - Surgery needed within 24-30 hours Example of an urgent surgery - Fracture repair, infected gallbladder Elective - Planned/scheduled surgery with no time requirement Example of elective surgery - joint replacement, hernia repair, skin lesion removal Optional - Surgery requested by the patient Example of optional surgery - Cosmetic surgery Aesthetic purpose of surgery - Request by patient for improvement (breast augmentation) Diagnostic purpose of surgery - To obtain tissue samples, make an incision, or use a scope to make a diagnosis (biopsy) Exploratory purpose of surgery - confirmation or measurement of extent of condition (exploratory laparotomy) Preventative surgery - Removal of tissue before it causes a problem Example of preventative surgery - Mole, removal to prevent cancer Curative surgery - Removal of tissue or abnormal tissue Examples of curative surgery - Inflamed appendix, tumor, benign cyst, hernia Reconstructive surgery - Correction of defects of body parts Examples of reconstructive surgery - Scar repair, total knee replacement, face lift, mammoplasty Palliative surgery - Alleviation of symptoms when disease cannot be cured Examples of palliative surgery - Partial tumor removal to relieve pain or pressure, colostomy Preoperative surgical phase - Begins with the decision for surgery and ends with transfer to the operating room Intraoperative surgical phase - Begins with transfer to the operating room and ends with admission to perianesthesia care unit (PACU) Postoperative surgical phase - Begins with admission to the PACU and continues until recovery is complete What are factors that influence surgical outcomes - Emotional responses