postoperative
adjective
post·op·er·a·tive ˌpōst-ˈä-p(ə-)rə-tiv 
-pə-ˌrā-
1
: following a surgical operation
postoperative care
2
: having recently undergone a surgical operation
a postoperative patient
postoperatively adverb
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Bennett’s postoperative course was filled with numerous attempts to save his life. 
Simar Bajaj, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 July 2022 The drug also helps in preventing postoperative residual paralysis. Anuradha Varanasi, Forbes, 8 June 2022 The agency does not have the power to specifically regulate or license postoperative recovery homes. New York Times, 11 May 2022 Ketamine, meanwhile, was first used in clinical practice in the 1960s as a safer alternative to the anesthetic phencyclidine (PCP), which has been discontinued in the U.S. due to the high incidence of postoperative delirium with hallucinations. Raleigh Mcelvery, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2022 Certainly professional compassion may confer direct benefits: Surgical patients who had pre-op visits from nurses trained in compassionate care, for instance, rated their postoperative pain 50 percent lower than patients who did not. Barbara J. King, Washington Post, 13 May 2022 Then there is the postoperative care, which can include 24/7 direct access to your surgeon and at-home nurses. New York Times, 3 May 2022 Each episode will follow two patients in desperate need of assistance with postoperative pain and trauma. cleveland, 28 Jan. 2022 Limited staffing and too few beds for postoperative care and recovery, however, can complicate matters. Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2022 See More
Simar Bajaj, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 July 2022 The drug also helps in preventing postoperative residual paralysis. Anuradha Varanasi, Forbes, 8 June 2022 The agency does not have the power to specifically regulate or license postoperative recovery homes. New York Times, 11 May 2022 Ketamine, meanwhile, was first used in clinical practice in the 1960s as a safer alternative to the anesthetic phencyclidine (PCP), which has been discontinued in the U.S. due to the high incidence of postoperative delirium with hallucinations. Raleigh Mcelvery, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 May 2022 Certainly professional compassion may confer direct benefits: Surgical patients who had pre-op visits from nurses trained in compassionate care, for instance, rated their postoperative pain 50 percent lower than patients who did not. Barbara J. King, Washington Post, 13 May 2022 Then there is the postoperative care, which can include 24/7 direct access to your surgeon and at-home nurses. New York Times, 3 May 2022 Each episode will follow two patients in desperate need of assistance with postoperative pain and trauma. cleveland, 28 Jan. 2022 Limited staffing and too few beds for postoperative care and recovery, however, can complicate matters. Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
International Scientific Vocabulary
First Known Use
1872, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
postoperative
adjective
post·op·er·a·tive ˈpōst-ˈäp-(ə-)rət-iv
1
: relating to, occurring in, or being the period following a surgical operation
postoperative care
2
: having recently undergone a surgical operation
a postoperative patient