The doctor must inform the patient about surgery and obtain written consent.

Deficiencies in protein for tissue repair and collagen deposition should be corrected nutritionally prior to surgery.

Smokers should quit 1–3 weeks before surgery to avoid pulmonary and wound complications.

To reduce bleeding risk, stop taking aspirin 7–10 days before surgery.

Age alone is a clinical predictor of cardiovascular complications associated with anesthesia and surgery.

During surgery, nurses ensure patient safety, coordinate the OR staff, and scrub and circulate.

Constant surveillance and meticulous aseptic technique are required to reduce the risk of contamination.

Rewarming a patient after surgery must be accomplished rapidly to prevent further hypothermia.

In order to assess the intraoperative patient's care, nurses collect data from the patient and their medical records.

The immediate postoperative goal is to maintain ventilation and avoid hypoxia and hypercapnia.

The PACU nurse reviews vital information with the anesthesiologist or CRNA and the circulating nurse.

Complications of the lungs are the most common postoperative problem.

In the PACU, 10% of patients vomit. The nurse should not intervene until the patient vomits.

The first symptom of deep vein thrombosis may be a pain or a cramp in the calf.