Postoperative care is the management of a patient after surgery. This includes care given during the immediate postoperative period, both in the operating room and post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), as well as during the days following surgery

The goal of postoperative care is to prevent complications such as infection, to promote healing of the surgical incision, and to return the patient to a state of health

Postoperative care involves assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and outcome evaluation. The extent of postoperative care required depends on the individual's pre-surgical health status, type of surgery, and whether the surgery was performed in a day-surgery setting or in the hospital. Patients who have procedures done in a day-surgery center usually require only a few hours of care by health care professionals before they are discharged to go home. If post-anesthesia or postoperative complications occur within these hours, the patient must be admitted to the hospital. Patients who are admitted to the hospital may require days or weeks of postoperative care by hospital staff before they are discharged