Care of the surgical patient: intraoperative care

Introduction

This article is part two of a series covering care of the surgical patient. This article provides a clinical overview of the care of a surgical patient at the intraoperative care stage.

See ‘Care of the surgical patient: preoperative care’ and ‘Care of the surgical patient: postoperative care’ for further information on the other stages of surgical care.

Intraoperative care

The safe surgery process, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2009a), begins with the perioperative team (ie surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, operating department practitioners and healthcare assistants) discussing the surgical procedures that are listed for the day and any specific patient requirements, such as allergies and equipment requirements (Craig and Hatfield, 2020). Once the patient arrives to the day of admissions unit at the hospital, a member of the team will welcome the