Surgical etiology represents a frequent reason to intensive care (UCI) admission; prevalence rates are reported from 13% to 22% of total income. Similarly, patients admitted to intensive care unit frequently require urgent surgical interventions representing 6 to 13% of total number of patients. Objective: To estimate the epidemiological correlation between surgical procedures and intensive care unit by calculating the prevalence of postoperative complications and surgical urgencies in patients treated at a third level clinic in Colombia. Material and methods: A Cross-sectional study. The prevalence of postoperative complications and surgical urgencies were calculated in a third level clinic from Colombia during 2,016. Results: The prevalence of postoperative complications was 0.72% (n = 83), mainly cardiovascular alterations with 32.53% (n = 27); the prevalence of surgical urgencies of patients in ICU was 36.73% (n = 371), mainly due to alteration in ventilatory mechanisms 45.02% (n = 167). Conclusions: Post-operative complications and surgical urgencies are frequent clinical conditions that are difficult to manage, with an impact on mortality and costs. Therefore, a greater number of research needs to be done in this area.