Risks of Surgery

Surgery has always been a vital part of modern medicine, able to treat certain conditions that other interventional means cannot. However, because of this medical miracle, it may be easy to forget the risks. If you are planning to have surgery your biggest concern should be the final outcome. Will your life be improved by the procedure or do the risks outweigh the rewards? No surgery is risk free, but understanding the possible complications can help you make a better decision.

Anesthesia Risks and Complication:

Minor surgical procedures require only local anesthetic to the target area. It is not so for major surgery for which general anesthesia is used instead. All types of anesthesia involve some risk, major side effects and complications from anesthesia are uncommon. Most problems associated with anesthesia are related to the process of intubation, or inserting the breathing tube. Anesthesia complications and mistakes occur on a regular basis, a horrifying truth that most people do not realize until it affects them or someone close to them.

Bleeding:

There is no doubt that cutting through the skin results in bleeding. As this happens, the surgeon stops the bleeding with hemostatic clamps or cauterization instruments to burn the vessels closed. Patients with a previous DVT are at greater risk for additional clots and should make their surgeon aware of this condition.

Problems With Wound Healing:

After the surgery, all internal and external wounds need to heal. Most surgical wounds heal without causing any problems. Wound infections are one of the most common complications after surgery. This means that bacteria have started to grow in your wound. If you develop an infection, you will usually be treated with a course of antibiotics but occasionally further surgery is needed. Pain management is also at issue when wounds are in their early stage of healing.

Pulmonary Complications:

Sometimes, pulmonary complications arise due to lack of deep breathing within 48 hours of surgery. This may also result from inhaling food, water, or blood, or pneumonia. Symptoms may include wheezing, chest pain, fever, and cough (among others).

Surgery

Surgery is the special branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of injury, deformity, and disease by manual and instrumental means. There are many reasons to have surgery. Some operations can relieve or prevent pain. Others can reduce a symptom of a problem or improve some body function. Some surgeries are done to find a problem. For example, a surgeon may do a biopsy, which involves removing a piece of tissue to examine under a microscope. Some surgeries, like heart surgery can save your life.

Surgery can be classified as major or minor, depending on the seriousness of the illness, the parts of the body affected, the complexity of the operation, and the expected recovery time.

Major Surgery: Surgeries of the head, neck, chest, and abdomen. The recovery time can be lengthy and may involve a stay in intensive care or several days in the hospital. There is a higher risk of complications after major surgeries. Types of major surgery may include, removal of brain tumors, correction of bone malformations of the skull and face, repair of congenital heart disease, transplantation of organs, and repair of intestinal malformations.

Minor Surgery: Some surgeries considered minor. The recovery time is short and people return to their usual activities rapidly. These surgeries are most often done as an outpatient. Types of minor surgery include, placement of ear tubes, hernia repairs, correction of bone fractures, removal of skin lesions, etc.

Required Surgery: These are procedures that need to be done to ensure the quality of your future. An example might be having a spinal fusion to correct severe curvature of the spine. Required surgery, unlike emergency surgery, does not necessarily have to be done immediately.

Elective surgery: Surgery that is subject to choice. The choice may be made by the patient. For example, the time when a surgical procedure is performed may be elective. The procedure is beneficial to the patient but does not need be done at a particular time. As opposed to urgent or emergency surgery.

Urgent/Emergency Surgery: This type of surgery is done in response to an urgent medical need, such as the correction of a life-threatening congenital heart malformation or the repair of injured internal organs after an automobile accident.