Meaning & use
postoperative
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Meaning
adjectivebefore a nounmedical
Happening or given during the period of recovery after a surgical operation.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun: postoperative care, postoperative pain.
Patterns
- postoperative care
- postoperative pain
- postoperative period
- postoperative complications
The nurses checked her postoperative wound every few hours.
He was given strong painkillers during the postoperative period.
Postoperative care at home includes keeping the cut clean and dry.
Common combinations
- postoperative care
- Good postoperative care can prevent infection.
- postoperative pain
- She managed her postoperative pain with tablets.
- postoperative period
- Most patients go home within days of the postoperative period.
- postoperative complications
- The team watched for postoperative complications such as bleeding.
- postoperative recovery
- Gentle walking can speed up postoperative recovery.
Synonyms and how they differ
- post-op
- Informal short form used in speech and notes; postoperative is the full, formal term for writing.
- after surgery
- A common plain phrase that means the same but is not an adjective before a noun.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: postoperative or preoperative?
postoperative vs preoperative
Preoperative means before surgery; postoperative means after it. The prefixes pre- and post- show the difference.
Practice
The patient developed a fever two days after the operation. Which word best describes this fever?
Choose one answer.
Postoperative refers to the period after surgery, so a fever two days after the operation is postoperative. Preoperative would mean before surgery, and inoperative means not working.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “postoperative”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.