Journal of surgical education
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To identify the timing and relative frequency of common postoperative complications in a contemporary, diverse surgical population and develop a mnemonic for teaching and clinical decision support. ⋯ We propose a mnemonic for postoperative complication timing and frequency, independent of fever, as follows: Waves (myocardial infarction), Wind (pneumonia), Water (urinary tract), Wound (sSSI and dSSI), and Walking (venous thromboembolism) in the order of likelihood.