Chapter 16: Perioperative care
Skip chapter table of contents and go to main content
Definition
Pre‐operative care is the physical and psychosocial care provided to patients to help them prepare to safely undergo surgery. Psychosocial preparation includes assessing and managing patient stress, educating patients, and gaining informed consent for the procedure. Physical preparation is concerned with the prevention of peri‐ and post‐operative complications (Liddle [103], Turunen et al. [205]).
The pre‐operative phase of care begins when the patient is informed of the need for surgery and subsequently makes the decision to undergo the procedure. This phase may be slightly longer than for a patient undergoing a minor day procedure.
