My daughter had brain surgery should she of been taken to icu afterward? my daughter had brain surgery with no complications after recovery they took her back to her room. i want to know if she should of been taken to icu even though she was talking to us

A : A patients condition, not the procedure, determines which patient care unit a patient will be admitted to following a procedure. Some pathways do call for admission to the ICU post procedure, and this is typically based on evidence based practice, best practices per research and community standards of care. Many regulatory agencies drive appropriateness and criteria for inpatient hospital admission. Moreover, the nurses and other health care providers on each patient care unit must demonstrate clinical competency for the population served. For example, if your daughter underwent brain surgery, then the nurses and staff of the patient care unit that she was admitted to would be required to have the competency to care for her in terms of understanding the procedure and implementing a plan of care that will ensure optimal outcomes and a safe recovery. This plan of care would include parameters for ongoing monitoring and assessment, as well as indications that require doctor notification. If you question the care of your daughter, call the risk prevention/patient complaint line of the hospital.

Depends on operation: If the surgeon is happy with the surgical repair then, after a stay in the recovery, it may be appropriate to let you daughter go to the floor. The use of an ICU is to keep a very close eye on a patient in the immediate post-operative period when there is a concern about bleeding or swelling in the brain. If you have concerns you should always ask your surgeon about their decision.

No set answer: Some facilities will have floor nurses and staff that are quite capable of high level care that would otherwise otherwise only be available in an ICU. It is the doctors that work with the facilities & staff every day that best understand the capabilities of each setting. They would work with the facility & determine the proper level of care for each case.