Following surgery, you must keep your wound care orders for home health in mind and care for the wound as it heals. This may help you avoid scars, soreness, and discomfort, as well as reduce the chance of complications like infection.
To close the incision, your doctor used stitches, staples, tissue glue, or tape strips. You’ll also need to keep the area clean, change the dressing as directed by your doctor, and keep an eye out for indications of infection.
Suggestions for minimizing the risk of infection
To lower the chance of infection, do the following:
- Inquire with your doctor about how long you should keep the area dry. Follow your doctor’s advice to the letter
- Every day, examine the wound for symptoms of infection.
- As directed by your doctor, change the dressing.
Do NOT:
- Scrub or rub wounds.
- Unless your doctor instructs you otherwise, remove tape strips (such as Steri-Strips) from wounds.
- On wounds, apply lotion or powder.
- Allow sunshine to reach wounds.
- Unless you can keep the wound dry, take a bath. Instead, shower or sponge bathe until your doctor indicates it’s safe to do so. Cover the dressing with a plastic bag or another technique of keeping it dry before showering.
Around the after surgery wound, you may experience discomfort, tenderness, tingling, numbness, and itching. Mild oozing and bruising may occur, as well as the formation of a tiny lump. This is quite normal and nothing to be concerned about.
Infection symptoms
If you detect any of the following signs of infection, contact your doctor:
- A yellow or green discharge that is becoming more noticeable.
- A change in the discharge’s odor.
- A shift in the wound’s size.
- The surrounding area becomes reddened or hardened.
- The wound is really warm to the touch.
- Fever.
- Pain that is becoming more intense or peculiar.
- The bandage has soaked through due to excessive bleeding.
Changing a bandage
Make sure you have gauze pads, a box of medical gloves, surgical tape, a plastic bag, and scissors on hand before you begin. Then:
- Open the gauze packages and cut new tape strips to prepare the materials.
- Hands should be washed and dried. Put on your surgical gloves.
- Remove the tape that has been wrapped around the old dressing.
- Get rid of the old dressing.
- If your doctor has instructed you to, clean the wound.
- Look for symptoms of infection on the wound.
- Place a clean, sterile gauze pad over the wound by the corner.
- Tape the gauze pad on all four sides.
- Place all rubbish in a plastic bag and seal it. Last but not least, take off your gloves.
- Seal the plastic bag and toss it out.
- Please wash your hands.
Taking care of a wound
To clean the wound, do the following:
- To remove the crust, gently wash it with soap and water.
- The wound should not be scrubbed or soaked.
- Rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine should not be used because they can injure the tissue and impede wound healing.
- Before reapplying the dressing, allow the wound to air dry or pat it dry with a clean, fresh cloth.
Stitches, staples, tissue glue, or sticky strips require special attention.
Stitches or staples frequently cause redness and swelling where they enter the skin, as well as moderate discomfort and itching. For the first several days after surgery, some wound drainage is to be expected. However, if the discharge persists for more than a few days, turns bright red with blood, or contains pus, see your doctor.
Instead of a dressing or bandage, tissue glue or small sticky strips (such as Steri-Strips) can be used to protect the wounds. If you use adhesive, make careful to dry the wound area as soon as possible if it gets wet. After some time, the adhesive will fall off on its own. If you use adhesive strips, keep them in place until they loosen or fall off on their own.
Other wound-care suggestions
Other than these guidelines, you may be given extra instructions for wound care after various surgeries. Make sure you follow the directions to the letter. If the directions are unclear or you have a query, contact your doctor’s office. If the office is closed, call the answering service and leave a message. Call your doctor as soon as possible if your pain has worsened or you fear you have an infection.
After surgery, don’t expose your wound to direct sunlight for 3 to 9 months. The new skin that forms over a cut as it heals is extremely sensitive to sunlight and will burn more easily than regular skin. If you get sunburned on this new skin, it could result in severe scarring.
Call our Chicago wound care professionals at (847)813-6301 to find out preventative tips and more about Wound Care After Plastic Surgery.