Surgical Site Management: Improving Outcomes

Hospital stays are becoming shorter and shorter, but patient acuity levels are higher and higher. Combine that with existing nursing shortages, and it is easy to understand the increased risks of surgical site complications. This white paper first describes how surgical advances and best practice wound care have lowered the rates of surgical site complications, including surgical site infections (SSIs). The guide then discusses SSI risk factors, classifications, and impact on patients and the health care system, as well as surgical wound dehiscence and hematoma or seroma formation.