A Brief On Surgical Wounds – Symptoms, Causes And How They Get Treated?

1. A Brief On Surgical Wounds – Symptoms, Causes And How They Get Treated? What Is A Surgical Wound? A surgical wound is a type of cut or incision made in the skin by using a scalpel. It usually takes place when a surgery is performed on the patient or can also occur due to a drain placement. It can vary in size depending on the type of surgery the patient has undergone. Usually, these surgical wounds are closed with sutures but in some cases, the doctors left them open to heal. A non-healing surgical wound is caused by an infection while there can be many other reasons leading to poor wound healing. Surgical wound care to prevent any infection depends on the type of infection and involves regular cleaning, monitoring, and an appropriate wound dressing. What Are The Types Of Surgical Wounds? Surgical wounds can be classified into four categories depending on how contaminated or clean the wound is as well as the risk of infection and location of the wound on the body.

2. ● Class I – These are uninfected operative or clean wounds where there are no signs of infection or inflammation. ● Class II – These wounds are clean-contaminated wounds that may not show the signs of infection but are prone to develop an infection due to their location. For example, surgical wounds in the gastrointestinal tract may experience higher risks of getting infected. ● Class III – These are contaminated wounds that have a higher risk of infection as an object has been exposed to the skin. ● Class IV -These are considered as dirty infected wounds that include wounds with exposure to fecal material. What Are The Risk Factors For Surgical Wound Infection? As mentioned above, surgical wounds are caused due to an incision made in the skin or a drain placed during surgery and they become non-healing due to an infection. But what causes an infection in these surgical wounds? It can be: ● Any medical issues such as diabetes, or poor immune system, etc. ● Smoking or poor nutrition ● Obesity ● Emergency surgery ● Bacterial infection due to abdominal or intestinal surgeries ● People with old age ● Surgeries that last longer than two hours ● Radiation therapy ● Pre-operative sepsis etc. The team of doctors, nurses, and physicians at healthcare facilities takes into account all these factors to start treatment for effective, safe, and quicker surgical wound healing. Symptoms of Surgical Wounds Surgical wounds are kept under the complete monitoring of healthcare experts to make sure their effective, quicker & safe healing. They can become infected and may affect implants and tissue under the skin. Following are the symptoms of surgical wounds: ● Increased pain and redness ● Poor or delayed healing ● Drainage or pus ● Fever ● Bad odor

3. ● Wounds feel warm to touch ● Deep or dried-out experience etc. If the patients notice any of these symptoms of infected surgical wounds, they immediately need to contact surgical wound care. They will review the symptoms, examine the wounds and generate an effective treatment plan to improve your quality of life with a proper wound healing process. Treatment for Surgical Wounds A prompt, and effective treatment for surgical wounds depends on their location on the body. While executing surgical wound treatment, the doctors generally apply a suitable and appropriate wound dressing over the wound which needs to be changed regularly. ● They can also prescribe antibiotic therapy or remove the sutures and drain the wound depending on the severity of the infection. ● A debridement procedure is also recommended to remove dead tissue causing slow wound healing. ● Vacuum-assisted closure ● Hyperbaric oxygen therapy to deliver a sufficient amount of oxygen to the wound ● Skin or tissue grafting

4. ● Physical therapy and rehabilitation etc. Home Care Of Surgical Wounds Surgical wounds also require proper home care by the patients for safe and quicker wound healing. It may involve some of the same procedures including frequent dressing changing and cleaning etc. When the patients are discharged from the hospital before a surgical wound is completely healed, the patients need to follow all home care instructions provided by wound care surgeons. ● Make sure that your hands are cleaned before removing the dressing or use medical gloves. ● Clean the wound by soaking the gauze or cloth in the saline solution and gently wipe the skin. ● Remove all drainage, dried blood, or other matter around the wound. ● Avoid using skin cleansers, alcohol, peroxide, or antibacterial soaps. It can damage the wound tissue and can slow the healing process. ● Apply wound dressing carefully as instructed by the surgeons. When To Call Wound Care Experts? The patients are required to call their doctor if they notice: ● Redness, pain, swelling, or bleeding around the wound ● The wound is larger or deeper ● Dried out or dark appearance ● Drainage or pus leaking from or around the wound ● Bad odor from the wound ● Increased temperature etc. The wound care specialists will visit the patient’s location and provide bedside wound care services with prompt treatment in the comfort of their home.