Common Complications After Surgery

Surgical complications can include minor problems like sore throat and fatigue, or serious ones like blood clots, infection, and pneumonia.

Most patients experience one or more minor complications that resolve quickly. Your healthcare team will monitor you in the hours or days after surgery to help you avoid these complications and recover more quickly.

This article goes over some of the minor and major complications that can occur after a surgical procedure, and how they are managed.

Pain After Surgery

Pain is one of the most common complaints that surgery patients have in the days and sometimes weeks following surgery. Pain is to be expected and can be managed with medication.

Depending on your procedure, you may be able to manage your pain with over-the-counter medications like Tylenol (acetaminophen) or Advil (ibuprofen). If you need them, your surgeon may also prescribe stronger pain medications.

Anesthesia Side Effects

People respond differently to anesthesia. Some wake up easily and with no unpleasant symptoms. Others wake confused, agitated, or nauseated.

If you had side effects the last time you were given anesthesia, you are likely to experience similar side effects when you are given it again.

Nausea and Vomiting

Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) affects almost half of surgery patients in the hours and days after surgery. If you've experienced this in the past, make sure your anesthesia provider knows. It is much easier to prevent this issue with medication than it is to treat it.

Vomiting can also be painful after surgery, especially if the surgery requires an abdominal incision. 

Sore Throat

Sore throat is a common side effect after anesthesia. Anesthesia requires the placement of a breathing tube, which can irritate the throat.

Standard sore throat treatments such as lozenges, drinking hot or cold fluids, and throat sprays are usually adequate. Sore throat usually resolves within a day or two, possibly a few days longer if the breathing tube was in place for an extended time.

Fatigue

Fatigue after surgery is a common and expected complication. It is caused by the stress you experience during anesthesia and surgery. Your body is working hard to repair the incisions and blood loss.

Feeling tired is a normal part of recovery, but feeling exhausted is not typical.

Wound Dehiscence

Wound dehiscence is the medical term for having an incision open back up during the healing process. In most cases, this is a minor issue. It can lead to an extra week or two of healing.

In serious cases, the wound opens enough to require surgical intervention.

Difficulty Urinating

Trouble urinating after surgery is very common. It typically happens to patients who had a urinary catheter placed during surgery. This problem, called urinary retention, usually resolves in the days following surgery.

For some patients, a catheter may be necessary until the bladder “wakes up” from anesthesia.

Bleeding After Surgery

Some bleeding is considered normal after surgery, but a large amount of bleeding or bleeding that won’t stop is not.

Report any bleeding that is not minor or expected to the surgeon or hospital staff so it can be treated before it becomes a serious issue.

Scarring From Surgery

Your ability to care for your wound in the weeks following surgery will have a huge impact on how your incision scars.

Not smoking, keeping the wound clean, a healthy diet and appropriate use of medication will help determine how your body heals and how much scarring is present.

Fever After Surgery

A low-grade fever after surgery is common in the first week of recovery. It is your body’s way of fighting potential infection.

High fevers are not common or expected and should always be reported to the surgeon.

Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infections, like urinary retention, are often a result of having a urinary catheter placed for surgery.

Most urinary tract infections are easily treated with antibiotics and respond quickly to treatment. More serious urinary tract infections can lead to a condition called urosepsis. For that reason, burning with urination and other urinary tract infection symptoms should not be ignored.

Confusion/Delirium After Surgery

Confusion after anesthesia is especially common in older patients. Confusion can also lead to delirium, a more serious type of confusion after anesthesia.

If the patient has dementia or other issues with memory or confusion prior to surgery, they are more likely to have problems after a procedure.

Lung Problems

Being on a ventilator during surgery can lead to issues with breathing. While this complication is more common in people who have to stay on a ventilator after surgery, it can also happen in people who are unwilling or unable to cough during their recovery. 

You may be given a device called an incentive spirometer to take home. This is a device that helps you take deep breaths. If provided, it should be used to prevent lung collapse or pneumonia.

Pneumonia

It is harder for your body to fight viruses and bacteria after surgery. Spending a lot of time in bed in the days after surgery can lead to shallow breathing, which can increase your risk of developing a lung infection.

Moving around after surgery and keeping your head elevated while you're in bed can help prevent a lung infection. If you do develop pneumonia, you may be given medications and breathing assistance while you are in the hospital. If your healthcare provider determines that the infection is bacterial, you may also receive antibiotics.

Atelectasis (Collapsed Lung)

Atelectasis is when the small air sacks in your lungs lose air. It happens when air passages are blocked or there is pressure in the lung. It is one of the most common breathing complications that can occur after surgery.

Anesthesia, shallow breathing, and spending long periods of time in bed without changing positions are risk factors for developing this complication. Treatment is aimed at removing any blockage in the lung and expanding the airways.

Blood Clots After Surgery

Blood clots are always a concern after surgery. A small blood clot can form in the leg, causing swelling and pain. If a blood clot begins to move through the bloodstream, it can travel to the lungs and become a pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening condition.

Blood clots can usually be prevented with medication.

Infection/Sepsis After Surgery

Preventing infection is very important after surgery. It can be as easy as washing your hands properly and frequently.

Antibiotics are often prescribed after surgery, even if no signs or symptoms of infection are present. This can help prevent an infection from developing. An infection will dramatically slow or even stop the healing process. Identifying the signs and symptoms of infection early can lead to a faster recovery.

Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening, whole-body infection. People who have just had surgery have an increased risk of developing this type of infection, especially if they have a urinary tract infection.

Summary

Most people will have minor complications after surgery. These may include things like fatigue, sore throat, and nausea. Some people can experience more serious complications like infection or pneumonia.

It is important to follow your healthcare provider's instructions before and after surgery to help prevent complications and speed up your recovery time.