Table 1.

Clavien Dindo grading of surgical complications

Grades	Definition
Classification of surgical complications
Grade I	Any deviation from the normal postoperative course without the need for pharmacological treatment or surgical, endoscopic and radiological interventions Acceptable therapeutic regimens are: drugs as antiemetics, antipyretics, analgesics, diuretics and electrolytes and physiotherapy This grade also includes wound infections at the bedside
Grade II	Requiring pharmacological treatment with drugs other than such allowed for grade I complications Blood transfusions and total parenteral nutrition are also included
Grade III	Requiring surgical, endoscopic or radiological intervention
Grade III-a	Intervention not under general anaesthesia
Grade III-b	Intervention under general anaesthesia
Grade IV	Life-threatening complication (including CNS complications)* requiring IC/ICU-management
Grade IV-a	Single organ dysfunction (including dialysis)
Grade IV-b	Multi organ dysfunction
Grade V	Death of a patient
Suffix ‘d’	If the patient suffers from a complication at the time of discharge, the suffix “d” (for ‘disability’) is added to the respective grade of complication. This label indicates the need for a follow-up to fully evaluate the complication

IC intermediate care, ICU intensive care unit

*Brain haemorrhage, ischaemic stroke, subarachnoid bleeding, but excluding transient ischaemic attacks (TIA)