A surgical wound infection is an infection that occurs after a surgical or invasive procedure. According to The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, at least 5 percent of patients undergoing surgical operations develop surgical wound infections. In addition, at least 20 percent of all health care-associated infections come from surgical wounds. These infections can cause several complications, ranging from mild to fatal ones.
Wound Dehiscence
Two of the most common complications of surgical wound infections are dehiscence and evisceration. Wound dehiscence is the bursting open or parting of the layers of a surgical incision. It can be just a separation of some of the layers, but in some instances, the whole wound is split open. In worst cases, the organs may bulge through the incision site, a condition known as evisceration. The patient will notice several signs and symptoms of wound dehiscence, such as bleeding, swelling, redness and pain at the incision site. Fever will also be present due to the infection, and an open wound can be seen.
Abnormal Wound Healing
Wound healing can also become impaired if a person has a surgical wound infection. The infection can interfere with wound healing, thus requiring further surgical management. According to the Medical Student Learning Center, a surgical wound that heals abnormally will require procedures such as debridement or irrigation. In wound debridement, the dead or damaged tissues in the wound will be "scraped off" or removed, hence increasing its healing potential.
Sepsis
A very serious complication of surgical wound infections is sepsis. Sepsis is an inflammatory response of the whole body due to a serious infection. This systemic infection usually develops rapidly and can be life-threatening. In a surgical incision site, this happens when disease-causing organisms known as pathogens infect the site and enter the bloodstream. Once these pathogens are in the bloodstream, this will trigger a series of responses from the body's immune system, such as the release of anti-inflammatory mediators. The presence of bacteria and anti-inflammatory mediators puts the body in an inflammatory state. The blood vessels will dilate and the fluids will shift into the tissues. Because of this fluid shifting, the blood pressure may suddenly drop, thus resulting in a condition known as septic shock. No blood and oxygen can reach the organs, hence causing cell damage, and ultimately, multiple organ failure. If not treated right away, this can result to death.
