Pre-op
Medical abbreviation · Surgical
| Stands for | Preoperative |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
Pre-op stands for Preoperative, a surgical abbreviation.
Refers to the period before surgery and everything done in it: evaluation, testing, medication instructions, fasting, consent and the holding area where patients are prepared on the day of surgery. Clinicians also use it as a verb ("pre-op the patient") and a noun ("the pre-op").
Example: Pre-op instructions: stop clopidogrel 5 days before and eat nothing after midnight.
Usage notes
Also written preop. Routine testing before low-risk surgery in healthy patients, such as chest X-rays, ECGs and blood counts, is discouraged by Choosing Wisely recommendations because it rarely changes management. Medication planning, especially for anticoagulants, GLP-1 receptor agonists, SGLT2 inhibitors and insulin, is a major focus of pre-op visits.
Related abbreviations
More surgical abbreviations
- NSQIP – National Surgical Quality Improvement Program
- PAT – Preadmission testing
- PE – Pressure equalization (tubes)
- Phaco – Phacoemulsification
- POD – Postoperative day
- Post-op – Postoperative
- PRK – Photorefractive keratectomy
- RCR – Rotator cuff repair
- SLNB – Sentinel lymph node biopsy
- STSG – Split-thickness skin graft
- T&A – Tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy
- TAPP – Transabdominal preperitoneal (hernia repair)
See all 51 surgical abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.