Medical clearance for gynecologic surgery

Preoperative assessment and risk reduction in gynecologic surgery patients

The prevention of complications during or after surgery is of interest to surgeon and patient alike. Identification of a patient's risk for perioperative complications requires a mix of good fundamental medicine, clinical and laboratory assessment tools, and clinical experience. Once identified, reduction of modifiable risk leads to better clinical outcomes. Active risk reduction is a combination of general strategies known to benefit all patients plus focal strategies designed to reduce individual patient risk. This article will review preoperative risk identification strategies and risk reduction techniques applicable to gynecologic surgery patients.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After completion of this article, the reader will be able to summarize the various risk prediction strategies, explain the various methods used to identify risk, and describe potential ways to reduce perioperative risk.