18 Hidden Causes of High Neutrophil Counts That Doctors Want You to Know

9. Surgery

Surgery, even simple and routine surgeries, come with certain risks. One of the most common risks for patients is an infection after surgery, such as around the surgical incision. Unfortunately, this can happen even when the surgeon performs very well in the sterile environment. Infections are also a risk after the patient leaves the hospital and the incision has not completely healed. Infections will trigger an immune response, which can mean that an individual's white blood cell count rises, causing neutrophilia in some instances. In addition, it is also vital to note that a patient's white blood cell count will rise during surgery. This is the body's natural immune response to the abnormal event of surgery. When the surgery is clean and successful, these cells simply clean up dead tissue and things will return to normal after the surgery is over and during recovery. However, this response can sometimes remain, triggering neutrophilia.