Resources · Surgery & Procedures

The chest after surgery.

Written for clinicians. Cardiothoracic surgery and the procedures around it — what each operation does to the anatomy, what goes wrong afterwards, and what that means for assessment and treatment. These pages assume clinical training and are not intended as patient information.

Outcome Measures & Clinical Skills Surgery & Procedures · area 06 of 07 Key References
Before and after the operation

Peri-operative Care

5 guides

The complications that follow major surgery, who is at risk, and the interventions that reduce them — most of which happen before the patient reaches theatre.

ProcedureBariatric SurgeryAn abdominal operation with a respiratory risk profile — and rapid weight loss that costs muscle unless it is defended.Start herePost-operative Pulmonary ComplicationsThe commonest serious complication of major surgery — and the prevention evidence that sits before the incision.RehabilitationPost-Surgical RehabilitationRecovering well after an operation — protecting your chest, restoring movement, and rebuilding strength and confidence.RehabilitationPre-Surgical Rehabilitation (Prehabilitation)Getting fitter before an operation to recover faster afterwards — what prehabilitation involves and who it helps.ApproachThoracic Surgical Approaches: VATS & ThoracotomyHow the chest was opened tells you what to expect before you reach the bedside.
Lung, oesophagus and chest wall

Thoracic Surgery

8 guides

Resection and reconstruction — from a wedge of lung to an entire oesophagus, and the operations that change the rules most.

ProcedureDiaphragm PlicationIt does not restore movement — it stops a paralysed diaphragm being pulled the wrong way.ProcedureLung Resection & LobectomyWedge to sleeve resection — operability testing, air leak and the early complications.ProcedureLung Volume Reduction SurgeryThe rare operation whose trial tells you who benefits — and who dies sooner for having it.ProcedureOesophagectomyThe elective operation with the highest pulmonary complication rate — and a landmark negative trial.ProcedurePectus Deformity RepairMajor chest wall surgery in a fit young patient for a problem that was never primarily physiological.ProcedurePneumonectomyNothing left to re-expand, a vulnerable bronchial stump and deliberate fluid restriction.ProcedureSurgical Stabilisation of Rib FracturesPlating fixes the mechanics — the contusion underneath and the pain still decide the outcome.ProcedureThymectomyThe muscles you rely on for recovery are the diseased tissue — and repetition makes them weaker.
Pleura and airways

Pleural & Bronchoscopic Procedures

4 guides

Draining the space, sealing it, and the camera that delivers half the therapeutic procedures in this section.

ProcedureBronchoscopy & Endobronchial UltrasoundStaging, unblocking and treating — and the trial showing physiotherapy matches bronchoscopy for lobar collapse.ProcedureChest DrainsThe intercostal catheter, the underwater seal, and what swinging and bubbling actually mean.ProcedurePleurodesis & Indwelling Pleural CathetersTwo answers to recurrent effusion — and the trapped lung that decides between them.ProcedureZephyr Valves & Lung Volume ReductionOne-way valves for severe emphysema — selection, evidence, and rehab before and after.
Heart, sternum and pumps

Cardiac Surgery & Circulatory Support

7 guides

Opening the chest, replacing a valve through a catheter, implanting a device, or taking over the circulation entirely.

ProcedureCardiac Surgery: Bypass Grafting & Valve SurgerySternotomy, post-operative atrial fibrillation, phrenic injury — and the rehab referral that gets missed.SupportExtracorporeal Membrane OxygenationVenovenous or venoarterial, and the choreography of mobilising a patient on cannulae.DeviceMechanical Circulatory Support & Ventricular Assist DevicesNo palpable pulse, no cuff reading, and a driveline that must never be pulled.DevicePacemakers & Implantable Cardioverter DefibrillatorsArm restrictions that must not become a frozen shoulder, and therapy zones that set the exercise ceiling.ProcedurePercutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)A stent in under an hour, home the next day — and the rehabilitation referral most often missed.CardiacSternal PrecautionsProgression by symptoms and stability — not by a weight limit with no biomechanical basis.ProcedureTranscatheter Aortic Valve ImplantationA valve through the groin, a two-day stay, and a rehabilitation pathway still catching up.
Upper airway

Airway Surgery

3 guides

Surgically altered airways — and the distinction between them that matters most in an emergency.

ProcedureLaryngectomyThe neck breather — no connection between mouth and lungs, and an emergency algorithm of its own.ProcedureTracheal Resection and ReconstructionSit up, extend, breathe deep and cough hard — the standard instruction that can pull this repair apart.ProcedureTracheostomyTube anatomy, cuffs and speaking valves, humidification, suction and decannulation.
Replacing the organ

Transplantation

2 guides

Denervated organs behave differently from the ones they replace. Almost every habitual rule of assessment and exercise prescription needs restating.

TransplantHeart TransplantationThe denervated heart, silent ischaemia, and strong evidence for high-intensity interval training.TransplantLung TransplantationA denervated lung cannot feel secretions — so clearance becomes scheduled, not symptom-led.

These resources are for general education and are not a substitute for individualised assessment by a qualified clinician. If your symptoms change suddenly or severely, seek urgent medical care.