Resumo

CARVALHO, Ricardo Wathson Feitosa de; PEREIRA, Carlos Umberto; LAUREANO FILHO, José Rodrigues  e  VASCONCELOS, Belmiro Cavalcanti do Egito. The Surgical Patiente. Part II. Rev. cir. traumatol. buco-maxilo-fac. [online]. 2011, vol.11, n.1, pp. 37-46. ISSN 1808-5210.

When indicating surgical intervention, it is necessary to have knowledge on the patient as a whole in order to obtain the best assessment. The preoperative evaluation streamlines the solicitation of complementary exams for particular patients, as the routine solicitation of sets of exams should be questioned. There is a current tendency toward the rational use of complementary exams for assessing the health status of surgical patients and solicitations should be founded on information obtained from the patient history and physical examination, with the aim of avoiding unnecessary tests. "Complementary exams" are called thusly because they complement the clinical evaluation, but never replace it. The clinical exam is paramount. The patient, rather than the exam, should be diagnosed and treated.

Palavras-chave : Patient; Surgery; Health care evaluation mechanisms; Risk assessment..