This scenario-based assignment will discuss the pre-operative and post-operative care of a 56-year-old lady named Lucy who will be undergoing a thyroidectomy. Lucy suffers from Graves' disease and is diabetic. If Lucy was a real patient, her name will not be mentioned in the confidentiality brief (NMC, 2008). Once admitted to the ward before surgery, a holistic assessment will be carried out. The pathophysiology and essential treatment of your medical condition will be discussed after a holistic evaluation. Your postoperative care will be discussed in four parts: airway and breathing management, circulation, pain management and psychological care. After your post-operative care, discharge planning and the care you will need in the community will be discussed. Reference will be made to the Roper, Logan and Tierney model. Upon admission to the ward, a holistic assessment will be carried out. Lucy would be assessed according to the 12 Activities of Life (AL), mentioned in the Roper, Logan and Tierney model. This holistic approach allows you to develop a treatment plan that will identify Lucy's problems performing certain activities, while allowing her to remain independent with other activities. Breathing is the most important AL (Roper et al, 1998). A detailed assessment of your airway should be performed because protection of the airway during anesthesia is essential (Yates, 2000). This not only includes recording respiratory rate and oxygen saturation (SpO2), but also noting any use of accessory muscles, shortness of breath, auscultating chest and lung areas for wheezing/crackles and asking the patient for information on the history of any respiratory diseases/smoking ( McArthur-Rouse, 2007). To set the basic data, you will...... middle of paper ...... breathe, eat/drink, mobilize, communicate, sleep and eliminate. The surgery was successful and the woman was discharged without complications. To conclude, a holistic assessment should be performed upon admission to reduce perioperative and postoperative complications, for the successful outcome of the operation, and to prevent delays in discharge. Patients with diabetes undergoing surgery represent a great challenge for healthcare professionals. It is important to carefully monitor and control diabetes before, during and after surgery to eliminate complications. After thyroidectomy, there are many complications and patients must be monitored closely as early diagnosis can be life-saving. Discharging a patient is a complex procedure and should include clinical care, social care, appropriate referrals and should involve the patient and family.
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