Status post
Read Your Scan Editorial Team·Last updated
Written from published radiology references and reviewed for plain language. Not written or signed by a physician, and not a diagnosis. How we write these pages →
In plain language
After. It marks a surgery or procedure you have already had, so the appearance that follows is expected rather than a new problem — "status post cholecystectomy" simply means your gallbladder was removed.
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Where you'll see this
The findings and impression, and often abbreviated to "s/p".
Your report may word it “s/p”, “Post-surgical changes” or “Postoperative changes”. These mean the same thing.
Questions worth asking your doctor
- Compared with my last scan, is this better, worse, or the same?
- How much change would matter enough to do something about it?
- When should the next scan be, and what would you be looking for?
How often does this turn up?
Status post means after — after an operation, a procedure, a treatment. It is standard medical shorthand and appears throughout reports, usually right at the start of the findings, to record what has already been done to the anatomy being described.
Does it mean something is wrong?
It is purely factual and carries no clinical judgement. Its real function is to prevent misinterpretation: a radiologist who knows an operation has taken place reads the resulting anatomy as expected rather than as abnormal, and states it so the next reader does too. Post-surgical appearances can look dramatic to an untrained eye — missing tissue, metalwork, altered contours — and are entirely normal for someone who has had that surgery.
What to do with it
Nothing follows from the phrase. Where it matters is in making sure the report knows your history: if you have had surgery that the report does not mention, telling the department is worth doing, because unexpected post-surgical anatomy can otherwise be described as an abnormality. Reports also use post- as a prefix for the same purpose, and both mean the same thing.
Frequently asked questions
- What does status post mean?
- After. It records that a procedure or event has already taken place — status post cholecystectomy means after gallbladder removal — so that the appearances are read as expected rather than as new findings.
- Why use Latin?
- Convention and brevity. Radiology reporting retains a good deal of traditional shorthand because it is compact and unambiguous between clinicians, which is also why it reads so poorly to the patient it is about.
- Does it mean something went wrong with my surgery?
- No. It simply records that the surgery happened. Any actual complication would be described separately and explicitly rather than implied by this phrase.
Comparison with an earlier scan
Where this word comes up
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