Precautions for postoperative incision care in patients with laryngeal cancer

For patients who undergo laryngeal cancer surgery, there are many things to pay attention to when caring for the incision after surgery. If the care is not in place, the incision may be difficult to heal and may become infected.

Avoid throat and neck movements

Increased tension on the wound should be avoided. The patient should lie flat before waking up from general anesthesia. After waking up, the patient can be raised 10°~30° to avoid large rotations of the head and neck, which may cause excessive tension and affect wound healing.

Preventing wound infection

The patient's incision infection should be prevented, and aseptic operation should be taken into consideration when changing dressings or suctioning sputum. The tracheal tube should be disinfected daily, the airway should be humidified regularly, and the tracheal gauze pad should be replaced promptly if it becomes wet or contaminated. The negative pressure drainage tube should be kept unobstructed and effective to prevent the formation of dead space. Oral care should also be done to keep the oral cavity clean and hygienic. No swallowing should be done within one week, and saliva should be spit out promptly if there is any. At the same time, attention should be paid to changes in body temperature, and the doctor should be informed promptly if the body temperature rises.

Care for bleeding from incisions

The tracheal incision should be strictly observed for bleeding. If there is little bleeding, the gauze should be replaced in time to keep the incision dry and clean. If there is a lot of bleeding, the doctor should be informed in time so that the doctor can find the cause and stop the bleeding. Observe whether there is subcutaneous emphysema around the incision. If there is sputum contamination, the gauze should be replaced in time, preferably twice a day. When replacing, the wound can be wiped with a 0.5% iodine cotton ball.