What is a surgical wound? Proper surgical wound care

Postoperative wound care Proper care will limit infection, reduce pain and save costs for patients. Not only that, care Scientific surgery also helps wounds heal quickly and avoids ugly scars.

In this article, Urgo Medical will summarize the knowledge and principles of post-operative wound care at home to help patients recover quickly.

Proper post-operative wound care will speed up the healing process.

1. What is a postoperative wound? Is it necessary to keep the wound dry?

Postoperative wounds are also called postoperative wounds or surgical wounds.. This is the incision, the cut through the skin that the doctor makes during surgery. Depending on the type of surgery you have had, the size of the incision may vary.

To close the wound and help the healing process take place quickly, preventing the risk of infection, the surgeon will usually prescribe sutures. However, in some cases, the wound may not be sutured and needs to be properly cared for according to the instructions of medical staff.

During the care process, within the first 24 hours after surgery, you need to keep the stitched wound from getting wet. Therefore, on the first day after surgery, the patient should not bathe as usual, but should only use a dry towel to wipe themselves in bed.

On the second day, you still need to limit bathing if your body does not sweat too much. If it is necessary to clean, take a quick shower and cover up carefully. postoperative wound, avoid getting water or soap on it. After bathing, gently dry the area around the wound with a clean towel and change the surgical dressing.

*Notes on post-operative care:

– Do not shower directly on the wound, do not scrub the surgical wound .

– Do not soak or take a bath because the skin at the stitches may soften, causing the stitches to come loose, increasing the risk of infection.

2. How to care for the surgical wound? When can the bandage and stitches be removed?

Surgical wound care Stitches are very important, because if not cared for properly, the wound can take a long time to heal, leave an ugly scar, or even become infected. Here are the steps to properly care for post-operative stitches:

– Step 1: Remove the old bandage.

– Step 2: Use pliers to pick up a piece of sterile cloth or gauze and place it in the saline solution.

– Step 3: Gently wipe or dab the wound surface. Pay attention to wiping at the stitches, the base of the stitches and the seams because these are where many germs gather.

– Step 4: Continue cleaning the skin around the wound within a 5cm radius.

– Step 5: Dry the incision. Cover with clean cloth or clean gauze.

Changing bandages is an important step in wound care.

*Notes when changing wound dressing after surgery:

– Always clean your hands thoroughly with an antiseptic solution or soap (for 15-30 seconds and dry your hands) before and after removing the old bandage. Remove any jewelry from your hands.

– Use pliers to pick up gauze, cotton, soft cloth. Do not use hands directly. If you do not have pliers, you can use clean medical gloves to operate.

– Do not soil or wet the bandage.

– Use sterile saline solution to wash postoperative wounds.. Do not use antibacterial soaps, skin cleansers, hydrogen peroxide, iodine or alcohol as these solutions can destroy young granulation tissue and slow the healing process. These solutions are only suitable for cleaning wounds with pus, inflammation or dirt.

– To avoid infection of the wound after surgery , you need to follow the order: Wash the wound first => Wash the surrounding skin afterwards.

– Unless directed by your doctor, do not apply any moisturizers, lotions, oils, or herbal solutions to the wound.

Regarding the removal of bandages and sutures, your surgeon will inform you of the exact time on the day of discharge. Usually, after 1 day of discharge, most surgical wounds do not need to be changed, unless the wound is open and oozing (the doctor will advise). On the 2nd day, you can change the bandage and continue to wash the surgical wound/change the bandage every day until the wound has sutures removed and is completely healed.

In most cases, your doctor will use dissolvable sutures to close the wound. Dissolvable sutures will fall off in about 7-10 days and you will not need to see your doctor to have them removed.

However, if the postoperative wound Your stitches are stitched with regular thread, the doctor will schedule a specific stitch removal schedule, on average after about 5-21 days from the time of surgery, depending on the location and type of surgery you have performed. Absolutely do not cut the stitches at home if you do not have the expertise and experience, because it can cause injury. surgical wound

3. What is the correct way to exercise after surgery? What should I do if the incision is bleeding?

After surgery, you should not lie still in bed but can walk gently on the first day leaving the post-operative monitoring room. Because not moving can easily lead to the risk of thrombosis, intestinal obstruction, pneumonia, pressure ulcers, etc.

Should exercise gently after surgery

However, movement and movement must be done very carefully and gently so as not to affect the wound. If you move too much, the newly stitched incision is still tense, even the stitches inside the organs are still new, so it can cause the stitches to come loose, the wound to tear open or the bandage to come loose, easily leading to the risk of infection and delaying the healing process.

In case of postoperative wound If the bandage bleeds, you need to change the bandage immediately and apply pressure on the bandage for a few minutes to stop the bleeding. If you apply pressure but the bleeding continues to increase, you need to go to the hospital for timely treatment.

4. In what cases of postoperative wounds should a doctor or specialist be immediately notified?

If you see any of the following unusual signs in the surgical wound , you must immediately notify your doctor and a specialist or go to the hospital for a follow-up examination:

– The incision smells bad.

– Increasing pain in postoperative wound, pain when urinating.

– The incision is hot, red, swollen, or the surrounding skin is painful, swollen, and feels pulsating when pressed.

– Wound with hematoma, bleeding, pus discharge (thick pus, green-yellow color) or increased secretion.

– Body feels lethargic, tired, chills, temperature exceeds 38.5 degrees Celsius for more than 4 hours.

– The stitches are loose, the incision is open, the wound appears deeper and larger.

– The patient feels the incision is tight and tense.

– Irregular heartbeat, nausea and vomiting…

Always monitor the surgical wound for any unusual signs.

The above signs indicate a postoperative wound. You may have an infection after surgery and you cannot care for it at home and need to go to the hospital to have the wound cleaned by medical staff. In severe cases of infection, the surgeon may have to remove the stitches to check for infection from inside the surgical wound and prescribe appropriate treatment options for the infection.

In Vietnam, about 10% of millions of surgeries are currently infected with surgical wounds. This is also one of the most common types of infection and the leading cause of death in the world in surgical patients. Not only does it slow down the healing process, prolong the hospital stay and increase the risk of death, surgical wound infections also create a heavy burden for patients, relatives and the health system.

However, if you know how to take care of the wound after surgery, you can still limit the risk of infection, speed up the healing process and eliminate the pain each time the surgical wound is changed. A suggestion recommended by medical staff for patients and relatives to use themselves Post-operative care at home is the use of Urgo Medical’s advanced dressing lines, typically UrgoTul mesh dressings that can be used throughout the process from hospital to home.

UrgoTul mesh dressings use exclusive TLC technology to help make dressing changes painless and heal wounds quickly.

UrgoTul bandage helps post-operative wounds heal quickly and bandage changes are painless.

The above are useful knowledge and information when handling first aid & post-operative wound care. At Urgo Medical, we provide many accident wound care solutions suitable for each injury condition and healing stage. You can refer to products related to wound care here: urgomedical.vn .

REFERENCES:

1. https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/surgical-wound-care
2. https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features/home-self-care
3. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000040.htm
4. https://www.vinmec.com/vi/tin-tuc/thong-tin-suc-khoe/suc-khoe-tong-quat/nhiem-khuan-vet-mo-khi-nao-can-phau-thuat
5. Postoperative patient care – Health Vietnam
6. https://healthvietnam.vn/thu-vien/tai-lieu-tieng-viet/dieu-duong/cham-soc-nguoi-benh-sau-mo
7. MSD and MSD Manuals (Professional Edition) – https://www.msdmanuals.com/vi-vn/chuy %C3% AAn-gia/ %C4% 91 %E1% BB %91i-t% C6%B0 %E1% BB%A3ng- %C4% 91 %E1% BA %B7c-bi% E1 %BB% 87t/ch%C4 %83m-s% C3%B3c-b %E1% BB %87nh-nh% C3 %A2n-ph% E1 %BA% ABu-thu %E1% BA %ADt/ch% C4 %83m-s% C3 %B3c-sau-ph% E1 %BA% ABu-thu %E1% BA%ADt