Fever During Surgery

Not sure where to post this and I couldn't find anything from Google not an ad for Tylenol, etc.

Does anyone know what happens if a patient develops a fever mid-surgery? I understand via personal experience that surgical areas are rather cold.

Surgical suites are usually quite cool in my experience.

Depending on the surgery, I would think a fever might be some people's normal body response to the trauma of the surgery, but I'm not a doctor.

I've had horrible chills after surgery, shivering, teeth-chattering kinda chills. Followed by night sweats for days afterward. All with no infection.

Could also be onset of an infection.

Mike S. said:

Could also be onset of an infection.

Click to expand...

Or hot nurses.

Ed it would probably depend on the temp of the patient, the criticality of the surgery and other variables.

Thanks buddies!

In my capacity as a pharmacist and Clinic Administrator with 21 years of experience (before switching to QA here in the US), fever, in general, is not inherently harmful; rather, it is just a sign of the body's immune system response. However, occurrences of fever during surgery are seldom reported. More commonly, early postoperative fever is observed, typically stemming from the inflammatory effects of tissue damage and exposure to foreign materials. It's worth noting that the sensation of having a fever may be misleading, and there is a possibility that it is not actually present. If Mike is correct, then congratulations to Ed! (you are in very good shape!)