Introduction
Nursing care provided for the person before, during and after surgery is called perioperative care (Dempsey 2014 p 811). This essay will discuss the postoperative aspect of perioperative care and what is expected of the registered nurse. Mr Fred Brown, a frail 72 year old man, has just returned to the ward after undergoing a left knee replacement. It will explore the priorities of caring for Mr Brown’s physical and psychological needs while nursing actions of assessing his subjective and objective data, monitoring his vital signs for change and the nursing interventions required to assist in his recovery. Over the 24 hours he is in postoperative care and will outline the In addition to his age being a factor in his recovery, Mr …show more content…
Monitoring Mr Brown’s pulse and blood pressure will give the nurse…
Central nervous system
Following a surgical procedure like knee replacement where the patient is anaesthetised, the nurse may need to reorient the patient with stimuli. Simply touching Mr Brown and calling him by his name should return him to a conscious state however ‘older people are prone to postoperative delirium and need careful assessment, reassurance and orientation’ (Dempsey 2014, p833).
Fluid balance
Imbalanced fluid whether it be a deficit or excess is a risk in older adults like Mr Brown. A fluid imbalance can come about due to multiple causes. Preoperative fluid restriction while fasting, blood or fluid loss and wound drainage can all contribute to a fluid deficit. The body retains water and sodium as a stress response during a surgical procedure and this can result in fluid excess. Because Mr Brown suffers from COPD, fluid retention can cause complications with this comorbidity by…
To keep track of a patients fluid levels, the nurse is to keep record of any fluids entering the body such as oral fluids, intravenous therapy and any other liquids and compare that amount with any fluids that have been excreted. Fluid can be excreted via urine, haemorrhage, vomitus, wound …show more content…
The PCA is a pre-programmed device that enables Mr Brown to administer a dose of morphine within a predetermined time frame. Mr Brown can press this button as often as he feels the need for pain relief however will not be able to overdose on the medication as there are safety measures in place to avoid this occurring.
Another method of measuring Mr Brown’s pain level is by comparing the amount of times he has pushed the medicate button to the amount of times it was actually administered. If the requests are higher than the doses received, the nurse could consult the Medical Officer to provide Mr Brown with an extra dose of pain relief.
Potential complications
Caring for a patient postoperatively isn’t solely about treating their existing condition. There is a potential for additional complications to arise. One example of a complication that someone like Mr Brown could experience would be deep vein thrombosis (DVT) which could cause a coronary embolism.
Nursing care provided for the person before, during and after surgery is called perioperative care (Dempsey 2014 p 811). This essay will discuss the postoperative aspect of perioperative care and what is expected of the registered nurse. Mr Fred Brown, a frail 72 year old man, has just returned to the ward after undergoing a left knee replacement. It will explore the priorities of caring for Mr Brown’s physical and psychological needs while nursing actions of assessing his subjective and objective data, monitoring his vital signs for change and the nursing interventions required to assist in his recovery. Over the 24 hours he is in postoperative care and will outline the In addition to his age being a factor in his recovery, Mr …show more content…
Monitoring Mr Brown’s pulse and blood pressure will give the nurse…
Central nervous system
Following a surgical procedure like knee replacement where the patient is anaesthetised, the nurse may need to reorient the patient with stimuli. Simply touching Mr Brown and calling him by his name should return him to a conscious state however ‘older people are prone to postoperative delirium and need careful assessment, reassurance and orientation’ (Dempsey 2014, p833).
Fluid balance
Imbalanced fluid whether it be a deficit or excess is a risk in older adults like Mr Brown. A fluid imbalance can come about due to multiple causes. Preoperative fluid restriction while fasting, blood or fluid loss and wound drainage can all contribute to a fluid deficit. The body retains water and sodium as a stress response during a surgical procedure and this can result in fluid excess. Because Mr Brown suffers from COPD, fluid retention can cause complications with this comorbidity by…
To keep track of a patients fluid levels, the nurse is to keep record of any fluids entering the body such as oral fluids, intravenous therapy and any other liquids and compare that amount with any fluids that have been excreted. Fluid can be excreted via urine, haemorrhage, vomitus, wound …show more content…
The PCA is a pre-programmed device that enables Mr Brown to administer a dose of morphine within a predetermined time frame. Mr Brown can press this button as often as he feels the need for pain relief however will not be able to overdose on the medication as there are safety measures in place to avoid this occurring.
Another method of measuring Mr Brown’s pain level is by comparing the amount of times he has pushed the medicate button to the amount of times it was actually administered. If the requests are higher than the doses received, the nurse could consult the Medical Officer to provide Mr Brown with an extra dose of pain relief.
Potential complications
Caring for a patient postoperatively isn’t solely about treating their existing condition. There is a potential for additional complications to arise. One example of a complication that someone like Mr Brown could experience would be deep vein thrombosis (DVT) which could cause a coronary embolism.