What is Safe Surgery
In reality, when we speak of safe surgery in medicine, we are referring to a series of activities and verifications needed at the time of carrying out the surgery. This includes a previous analysis of the patient such as identification, crucial medical data, allergy history, verification of the surgeries to be performed, the surgical site, etc. In addition, it includes a spectrum of care during surgery and in the immediate postoperative period. These extensive protocols have been shown to significantly reduce complications and deaths in surgeries of all kinds, this including plastic surgery.
The actions necessary for surgery could be grouped into the following parts:
Complete pre-surgical evaluation. A teleconsultation is accepted. But have a complete medical history taken.
Deepening in family history, diseases, lifestyle habits, etc.
Consultation with a clear and in-depth explanation of the alternative procedures
Taking of indicated complementary exams
Performing surgery under safe surgery conditions
Clear explanation of post-surgical care, medications and warning signs
Frequent and in-depth postoperative checks.
In our clinic and in our practice, when we talk about safe surgery, we also refer to another series of elements that ensure that the procedures have the best possible outcomes and that the rate of complications is as low as possible. A very good pre-surgical evaluation is essential, where the patient’s wishes, the types of surgery required, the incisions and other aspects of it are widely discussed. The patient should be educated about the risks associated with any type of procedure and those specific to each procedure. It is extremely important to evaluate the patient’s expectations and analyze if they are realistic and to transmit honest and clear information by the medical and support team.
As we have said before, safe surgery activities refer mainly to those that are carried out immediately before, during the procedure and in the immediate postoperative period. However, it is also essential to strictly monitor patients. In other words, apart from delivering the formulas and recommendations, verifying their use, remembering the warning signs of complications, periodic checks as frequent as necessary are essential in order to early detect the presence of a complication. The occurrence of complications will always be possible, but the important thing is that they are very infrequent and minor and that in the case of more important complications, they are detected in time for proper treatment.
This is a very important question, since meeting a wide range of conditions and activities to keep surgeries as safe as possible is difficult. On the one hand, sketchy and questionable clinics are those that operate without meeting a series of requirements and conditions and therefore involve greater risks. This is why a procedure without expert personnel such as licensed plastic surgeons, experienced anesthesiologists, etc., has risks much more frequently and severely. For this reason, our recommendations from official scientific societies such as the Colombian Society of Plastic Surgery and the Society of Anesthesiologists, is that procedures are only performed in properly certified places and with suitable personnel. It is clear that plastic surgeries performed by non-plastic surgeons carry much higher risks and less adequate results.
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