Perioperative nursing research. Part VII: Postoperative care

The implications for further research will be determined by the changes in surgery and perioperative nursing itself. Things are changing. The development of biliary lithotripsy and more flexible laser angioplasty, to name but two, will reduce the potential for traditional complications of surgery. Bleeding and infection will diminish with less invasive procedures. Similarly, the postoperative course of surgical patients will be assisted by earlier signs detected by pulse oximeters, more accurate assessments of neurological status, and even intraoperative management of acute myocardial infarction. The role of the perioperative nurse will be by no means diminished. In fact, it will expand.