Be aware of the dangers of surgical wound infection in postoperative patients

When you perform surgery or surgery, of course the main goal is to improve the problematic body functions and re-optimize the work of these organs. Unfortunately, operations that should run smoothly with optimal results can sometimes lead to surgical wound infection (ILO).

Surgical wound infection, which in medical language is called Surgical Site Infections (SSI), is an infection that occurs in the area of ​​the surgery. It cannot be underestimated, according to dr. Adianto Nugroho, Sp.B-KBD, as a surgeon and digestive surgeon consultant, during the SSI prevention symposium at Siloam Karawaci Hospital organized by PT. Johnson & Johnson Indonesia, on August 20 2018, explained that the number of SSI cases in Indonesia could reach 5-8 percent.

This number is quite high considering that surgical wound infection can pose serious dangers to the health of the body.

What is a surgical wound infection?

Surgical wound infection or SSI, can be said to be a health problem that still lurks medical personnel and patients around the world. In some cases, SSI may involve infection of the skin only. But in more severe cases, SSI can even attack the organs and tissues under the skin.

SSI can occur in some surgical procedures, for example colorectal, gastrointestinal, heart and blood vessels, nerves, skin, orthopedics, and uterus. If crunched more closely, SSI cases were highest reported in surgical procedures colorectal , orthopedics, and gynecology.

What causes surgical wound infection?

When met in Cikini, Menteng, Central Jakarta (21/8), Prof. Charles E. Edmiston, Jr., PhD., CIC, a surgeon from the Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, explained that SSI is caused by bacteria that attack the incision area.

These bacteria can come at any time, either during the operation process or after surgery. Generally, bacteria will develop into a wound in the surgical incision within 30 days after the operation process. Actually, any type of bacteria can easily land on and stay on the surgical incision scar.

However, Prof. Edmiston continued to say that bacteria Pseudomonas are the bacteria that most commonly cause SSI. A damp room or place is a favorite place for bacteria to live Pseudomonas . That is why these bacteria are thought to be able to contaminate the air in the operating room, which can eventually infect the surgical wound.

As it turns out, there are risk factors that increase the chances of SSI

The risk of a patient who has undergone surgery to experience SSI will also increase when accompanied by several supporting risk factors.

"Smoking, diabetes, and being overweight are the three most common risk factors, and they both occur in Indonesia and in the United States." Prof. commented. Edmiston further

Besides that, dr. Siusanto Hadi, SpB-KBD, as a specialist surgeon (digestive) at Siloam Hospital in Surabaya, who was also met in Cikini, Menteng, Central Jakarta (21/8), added that in Indonesia itself there are other risk factors that play an equally important role. SSI in surgery patients.

According to him, air contamination that occurs in the operating room, the patient's personal hygiene, and the patient's nutritional adequacy prior to surgery are some of the things that have contributed to the SSI case in Indonesia.

How dangerous is surgical wound infection?

For those of you who have just heard about surgical wound infections or SSI, you might think that this condition is not too dangerous and can be treated immediately by administering special drugs. In fact, for cases of SSI that are still relatively mild, they can be treated immediately to prevent the infection from getting worse.

Treatment with antibiotics is an option that is usually made in postoperative patients who have SSI. Even so, Prof. Edmiston then added that giving antibiotics cannot always heal the wound on the surgical incision. This is because there are bacteria that are already resistant to antibiotics, causing a more severe infection.

As explained earlier, infection can not only occur on the skin, but can also harm the organs and tissues in it. If this happens, antibiotics alone may not be able to reverse the condition of the infection. Another option fell on advanced surgery, reported on the CDC page as a disease control center in the United States.

The worst case is for cases of surgical wound infection that have progressed more severely, which can lead to death.

This problem also caused a large material loss

Again, surgical wound infection is not a minor problem because it is not only detrimental to the patient's health, but also the cost of treatment, patient recovery time, and health services that handle the operation process. Why?

"Overall, the costs for surgery in normal patients and patients with SSI will be very different. Patients who have surgical wounds, of course, have to pay several times more expensive surgery costs than patients with normal health conditions, "said Prof. Edmiston.

This statement is also substantiated by a study published in the International Journal of Public Health Science in 2016, which compared the cost of cesarean section in normal patients and patients with SSI. Sadly, the difference in the total cost of surgery for these two patients could reach USD 1,300, aka 18.3 million rupiah!

Quite an astonishing number, right? Not only that, SSI's losses will also be received by the health services because they are considered inadequate so that it can cause wounds in the surgical incision scars.

That is why, compared to having to spend a lot of time, effort, and money if you already have an infection in the surgical incision scar, there is nothing wrong with preventing it before this condition actually occurs.