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Postoperative Complications

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Contemporary Coloproctology

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Abstract

No surgeon operates without complications which are the inevitable consequence of our craft. However, through understanding of potential complications, we may strive to prevent their occurrence or diagnose them earlier and manage them more successfully. An exhaustive account of the potential complications which may follow colorectal surgery is beyond the scope of this chapter (many of these are presented in Table 42.1). Instead, the following discussion will focus upon early “surgical” issues which often require active intervention from the surgical team, these being: hemorrhage, sepsis, anastomotic failure and enterocutaneous fistula, postoperative bowel obstruction, and wound dehiscence and the burst abdomen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Castle Hill Hospital, The University of Hull Academic Surgical Unit, Hull, HU16 5JQ, UK

    Sonia Lockwood & Jon Armitage M.D., FRCS

Authors
  1. Sonia Lockwood
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  2. Jon Armitage M.D., FRCS
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Correspondence to Jon Armitage M.D., FRCS .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundat, Sheffield, S5 7AU, United Kingdom

    Steven R. Brown

  2. Hull Royal Infirmary, Hull, United Kingdom

    John E. Hartley

  3. Manchester Royal Infirmary, Manchester, M13 9WL, United Kingdom

    Jim Hill

  4. Hope Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom

    Nigel Scott

  5. New Cross Hospital, Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust, Wolverhampton, WV10 0QP, United Kingdom

    J. Graham Williams

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Lockwood, S., Armitage, J. (2012). Postoperative Complications. In: Brown, S., Hartley, J., Hill, J., Scott, N., Williams, J. (eds) Contemporary Coloproctology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-889-8_42

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-889-8_42

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