HF 7217

Preventing Infections After Surgery

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Surgical Site Infections (SSIs)

Surgical site infections (SSIs) may occur after having surgery. The SSI can be at the skin, or it can be deep in the part of the body where surgery occurred. Most patients who have surgery do not get an SSI.


Symptoms of SSIs

  • Pain or tenderness at surgical site

  • Swelling

  • Redness

  • Fever

  • Increased drainage or cloudy drainage from incision


Treating SSIs

Most SSIs can be treated with antibiotics. Sometimes patients with SSIs also need another surgery to treat the SSI.


How UW Health Helps Prevent SSIs

  • We clean our hands and arms with an antiseptic agent before surgery.

  • We clean our hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub before and after caring for each patient.

  • We may remove some of your hair right before your surgery using a clipper, not a razor.

  • We make sure you clean your skin with a special antiseptic cleanser, chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG), that kills germs the night before and the day of surgery. If you are allergic to CHG, please tell your doctor so additional directions can be provided to you.

  • We may test your nose to find out if you carry bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) or Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which can cause SSIs.

  • We may apply an antiseptic in your nose right before your surgery to kill nasal germs that cause SSIs.

  • We wear special hair covers, masks, gowns, and gloves during surgery to keep the site clean.

  • If you are instructed to complete a bowel prep by your surgeon, this will help prevent infection.

  • We may give an antibiotic before your surgery starts. In most cases, you will get it within 1 hour of the start of surgery and will be stopped 24 hours after surgery.

  • We may give you a gown or blanket that connects to a warm air blower. Keeping you warm prior to and during surgery helps prevent SSIs.


Preventing SSIs


Before Surgery

Tell your doctor about other health problems you may have. Let your doctor know if you had an SSI after a prior surgery or any other bad infection. Let your doctor know if you currently have any skin wounds, bug bites, rashes, or pimples. Health problems such as diabetes, allergies, and obesity could affect your surgery and treatment. If you have diabetes, check, and make every effort to control your blood sugar.

Quit smoking. Patients who smoke get more infections. Talk to your doctor about how you can quit before your surgery.


During Surgery and Hospital Stay

Blood sugar levels can affect how you heal after surgery. The stress of surgery and some medicines used during surgery can raise your blood sugars. If levels are too high, you are at higher risk for an infection. Because of this, most adult patients who have surgery will have their blood sugars checked. Insulin will be given if blood sugar levels are too high. This is true regardless of a diabetes diagnosis. Blood sugars will be monitored for kids with diabetes.

Make sure that healthcare workers wash their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub before they touch you. If you do not see them wash their hands, ask them to do so.

Family and friends should clean their hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub before and after they visit. If you do not see them clean their hands, ask them to do so. They should not touch your wound or dressing.

Keep your dressing clean, dry, and intact. Do not remove the dressing to show others your wound.

Expect that staff will keep your surgical dressing in place for 48 hours unless there is a problem. After 48 hours, staff will continue checking your wound site and the dressing at least daily. Please inform staff if your dressing is soiled and needs to be changed.

Expect that staff will continue to use the CHG antiseptic soap for daily treatments to your skin to kill germs.

Before you go home, your doctor or nurse should explain how to take care of your wound. Make sure you know how to care for your wound before you go home.

You may be told to use CHG soap at home to clean your wound. After cleaning the incision with CHG, be sure to rinse the soap off your skin with water and apply a clean dressing.


At Home

Always clean your hands before and after caring for your wound.

Keep yourself and everything around you as clean as you can. Use clean bed linens, wear clean clothing, and use disinfectants to clean surfaces such as bathroom fixtures.

Do not allow pets to be on your bed or come in contact with your incision or your dressing.


When to Call

Call your doctor right away if you have any symptoms of an infection such as:

  • Redness and pain at the surgery site

  • Drainage

  • Fever


References

FAQs about “Surgical Site Infections”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://www.cdc.gov/patientsafety/features/before-surgery.html.