Surgical Wound Management

Surgical site care is vital in preventing complications such as infection and dehiscence. Advanced therapies can help in the prevention of infection and the management of surgical sites and wounds. In patients who are deemed at risk, consider beginning the use of advanced technologies earlier in treatment to maximize overall outcomes.

It was reported in 2014 that approximately 14 million operations were performed in the United States. The health care–associated infection prevalence survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found an estimated 110,800 surgical site infections (SSIs) associated with inpatient surgical procedures in 2015. Even though many advances have been made in infection control practices, SSIs contribute to an overall surgical mortality rate of 3%, and 75% of deaths are specific to the SSI.

Although advances in surgical techniques and operating room technologies have made many surgical procedures more successful and have led to easier recovery for many patients, surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a clinical problem. These infections are associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and health care costs.

Despite modern precautions and protocols in place, surgical site infection (SSI) continues to be a risk. SSIs are the most common and costly of all hospital-acquired infections, with an estimated annual cost of $3.5 to $10 billion in the United States. Johns Hopkins Medicine reports that up to 3% of people who undergo a surgical procedure will develop an SSI. Additionally, SSIs can increase hospital length of stay by up to 9.7 days. Other complications of surgical wounds include osteomyelitis, gangrene, periwound dermatitis, periwound edema, wound dehiscence, and hematomas.

Surgical site management in the post-operative time frame is paramount in preventing infection and wound dehiscence. It is essential to use practical knowledge in good wound cleansing and skin care and in providing moisture balance in surgical site wound care management.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a risk for the more than 10 million patients who undergo inpatient surgical procedures every year in the United States. Between 300,000 and 500,000 Americans develop SSIs annually. SSIs are defined as infections related to an operative procedure that occur at or near the surgical incision within 30 days of the procedure, or within 90 days if prosthetic material is implanted.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are wound infections that occur after invasive surgical procedures. Depending on the location of the wound and the level of post-operative care that the patient receives, the risk of developing an SSI can be as high as 20%,¹ although across all patients undergoing inpatient procedures in the United States, the rate of SSI occurrence is between 2% and 4%.²

Surgical complications impact many patients every year, and when post-operative complications occur, they can disrupt the normal healing cycle and introduce new challenges in patient care. It is estimated that between 3% and 27% of surgical patients have unforeseen complications related to their surgical event.¹

Holly M. Hovan MSN, RN-BC, APRN, CWOCN-AP

An abdominoperineal resection (APR) is an operation in which a surgeon removes the anus, rectum, and sigmoid colon, usually to treat low rectal cancers.