Postoperative Care and Complications After Thoracic Surgery

Postoperative care of thoracic surgical patients is a very important part of patient recovery and can be very challenging. Pulmonary complications are responsible for significant numbers of deaths and morbidity of patients undergoing thoracotomy. Thoracic surgery impairs postop‐ erative respiratory function resulting in a relatively high risk of developing postoperative pulmonary complications. The incidence (19-59%) is much higher than following upper (16-17%) or lower abdominal surgery (0-5%). The overall incidence of complications following thoracic surgery varies from 15% to 37.5%, primarily due to the type of pulmonary complica‐ tions studied, the clinical criteria used in the definition and the type of surgery included. The clinical and potential economic impact of these complications is marked, with significantly longer hospital and high Dependency unit stay, frequency of ICU admission and number of deaths.