A fever after surgery (postoperative fever) is a common complication.
However, a fever after surgery can also be a sign of a more serious complication like an infection.
Thats why any fever after surgery needs to be taken seriously and watched closely.
Illustration by Julie Bang for Verywell Health
This article explains some of the reasons you could have a fever after surgery.
Lung Problems
Two post-surgery complications that can cause fever includeatelectasisand pneumonia.
Pneumoniais a lung infection that inflames the air sacs and may fill them with fluid or pus.
Sometimes, this can happen while a person is having surgery or right after when they are recovering.
If you had a urinary catheter during your surgery, you have a higher chance of getting a UTI.
However, they will also usually have other symptoms of a blood clot like pain and shortness of breath.
Non-Surgical Causes
Sometimes, the surgery itself is not the cause of a postoperative fever.
This is especially true if you are weeks into your recovery when you get a fever.
You also might start out with one punch in of fever that progresses to a more serious punch in.
A Word From Verywell
The timeline and severity of a fever provide extensive information about its source.
Mild postoperative inflammation is expected and may cause a low grade fever.
More emergent causes, such as DVT, pulmonary embolus, and infection warrant immediate investigation and treatment.
Afever of 99 F isvery common, especially in the first week while your incision is healing.
If you have a fever and your incision is not healing well, tell your provider right away.
You may need medical attention.
Tell your provider if you have a high fever, then go to urgent care or the ER.
These medications are usually effective for treating a fever.
These medications typically lower fever and treat pain at the same time.
Bringing down a fever with medication may not be enough.
You may have an infection that requires prescription antibiotics or need wound care.
An antibiotic will not always be able to treat a fever.
For example, antibiotics do not treat aninfectioncaused by a virus or fungus.
Its also possible that an infection is not the cause of a post-surgery spike in temperature.
If you have a high fever, your provider may do blood, urine, and wound cultures.
Your provider might want you to start treatment before your test results come back.
Summary
It is very common to have a mild fever after surgery.
A fever can be a sign that you’re developing an infection somewhere in your body.
Having a fever over 102 F needs medical attention.
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