Dehisced surgical wound is a separation of staples, sutures or glue from infection, blood clot, serous drainage and swelling. Dehisced surgical wounds can be caused by a bug or microorganism on the skin prior to surgery, in the body or organ, airborne, providers hands or surgical instruments (MedlinePlus, 2016). Patients that are more at risk for dehisced wounds: diabetics, immune suppressed, overweight, smokers, corticosteroid users and patients that have undergone surgery lasting more than 2 hours (MedlinePlus, 2016). Dehisced surgical wounds can be very serious and even life threating.
There are three stages of wound infection: superficial, deep and organ (Medline, 2016). Typically oral antibiotics are given for superficial wounds, but sometimes IV antibiotics are needed because of allergies. Sometimes a surgical procedure called incision and drainage or exploratory surgery is needed to clean and drain the wound (MedlinePlus, 2016). After the incision and drainage procedure the wound is left opened so it will heal from the inside out. During the healing time wound care will be needed and either you, family member or a health care provider will do daily wound dressings. Wound care usually consist of removing the packing, cleaning the wound and repacking followed by outer dressing. Sometimes serial debridement is needed to clean the wound for better healing. Occasionally a wound vac is used to speed up the healing process. The healing time is different for every patient so it could take days to months to completely heal. Yukon Wound Care and Rehab work closely with your physician to best meet your needs and speed up healing recovery.
Reference
Surgical wound infection – treatment: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. (2016, August 22). Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007645.htm