Description
Monitoring and documenting post operative surgical site infections (SSIs) is increasingly encouraged within veterinary practice as an important measure of surgical quality and clinical standards. However, SSI’s may not be the single cause of postoperative wound breakdown.
We will cover the most typical signs of wound dehiscence, factors that contribute and the differentiation between SSI’s and wound breakdown. The most common will be described including environmental factors, surgical technique, tissue handling, tension at the wound site, patient interference, seroma formation, and other potential inhibitors.
We will cover the physiological timeline of normal wound healing in respect to elective surgery and outline what to expect during recovery. The common postoperative wound complications will be illustrated distinguishing infectious from non-infectious processes with preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative factors considered.
Optimal post op wound protection strategies will be covered including use of simple post op dressings, bandaging technique, use of collars, recovery suits, and other protective devices.
The session will conclude with a discussion of ideals for home wound management, introducing owner concordance rather than simply expecting compliance to support successful postoperative recovery.
Learning Objectives
- Post operative wounds - physiological timeline and expectations
- Common wound complications, wound dehiscence, SSI’s and factors that contribute to failure to heal.
- Wound protection methods, Wound dressings, bandaging, collars and suits and adjunctive therapies.
- Home management of post operative wounds - ‘concordance’ not compliance.
- Quality assurance, No-blame methods for monitoring complications and improving outcomes.
