Components of Surgical Care- First Day in the Operation Theatre-Universal Precautions

Surgery is considered as an Art and Science of curing the disease by using  surgeon’s knife!

But operative surgery proper is only a part of total surgical care we offer. So what are the other components of the surgical care?

Components of the Surgical Care are the following:-

•      Clinical History with Personal particulars - Documentation

•      Physical Examination

•      Relevant Clinical Investigations

•      Pre operative preparation

•      Operative Procedure

•      Post operative Care

•      Rehabilitation

There are Four Basic Criteria to be fulfilled before taking a patient to the Operation Theatre.

1. The diagnosis must be accurate. However good is your  operation , if it was performed for  a wrong diagnosis the benefit to the patient is  nil.

2. The outcome of the procedure must be known . Only if the outcome or the result of an operative procedure is predictable, we go ahead with  the surgery.

3. An operation is performed only if the patient is fit to withstand the stress of surgery.

4.The benefits of an operation should outweigh the risks involved. Hence surgical procedure is performed Only if the benefits are more than the risks .

Preoperative Assessment is a very important aspect of surgical care.

Surgical interventions are made at the optimal time of the disease process so as to minimize the interventions as well as the complications!

In short, Surgery must be safe for the patient. Hence sterile precautions and other basic principles of surgery must be strictly followed in the operation theatre.

Universal precautions:- Considering every patient as biohazards and taking adequate precautions to safe guard ourselves and the other patients is called universal precautions.

The protective gowns,  goggles  and shoes  one wear are not only  for the safety of the patient but also for the safety of the Surgeon !

'The Father of  Surgery'- Sushruta

The Founder of Modern Surgery -Lord Lister