Postoperative Fever

Episode overview

Postoperative fever may represent a normal inflammatory response—or the first sign of a life-threatening complication. In this episode of Surgery Shelf Prep, Chris and Mars review how fever timing guides the differential without replacing careful clinical assessment. Learn how to apply the classic five W’s, distinguish early inflammatory fever from infection, recognize anastomotic leaks, necrotizing infections, venous thromboembolism, transfusion reactions, and malignant hyperthermia, choose a focused diagnostic workup, prioritize resuscitation, antibiotics, and source control in unstable patients, and avoid common surgery shelf-exam traps.