Complications that Patients Develop after Surgery due to Immobility

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Immobility creates complications regardless of the type of surgery. However, patients who undergo knee and hip arthroplasties are more prone to deep vein thromboses and thoracotomy patients are more prone to pneumonia and atelectasis. So when discussing over-all complications due to immobility post-op, you need to consider the type of surgery, too. The top 3 complications are:
1. Atelectasis (and possibly atelectasis as a cause of post-op fever)
2. Deep vein thrombosis
3. Decubitus ulcers

1. Atelectasis
I sorted this out from pneumonia since atelectasis can cause pneumonia itself, in which case the pneumonia would be a secondary complication of immobility. Prevention is key in all 3 complications, which is why respiratory therapy (incentive spirometry) is so important:
Atelectasis as a cause of postoperative fever: where is the clinical evidence?
Mavros MN, Velmahos GC, Falagas ME.
Source
Chest. 2011 Aug;140(2):418-24. doi: 10.1378/chest.11-0127. Epub 2011 Apr 28.
Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences (AIBS), Athens, Greece.
BACKGROUND:
Atelectasis is considered to be the most common cause of early postoperative fever (EPF) but the existing evidence is contradictory. We sought to determine if atelectasis is associated with EPF by analyzing the relevant published evidence.
METHODS:
We performed a systematic search in PubMed and Scopus databases to identify studies examining the association between atelectasis and EPF.
RESULTS:
A total of eight studies, including 998 cardiac, abdominal, and maxillofacial surgery patients, were eligible for analysis. Only two studies specifically examined our question, and six additional articles reported sufficient data to be included. Only one ...