What to do if a fracture is infected after surgery

We all know that fractures are common. The incidence rate in any country or region is not very low. It is an indicator, and a series of surgical treatments may be required after a fracture. After the surgical treatment, some people may develop one infection symptom or another due to improper care or protection. Moreover, wound infection after fracture surgery brings a lot of trouble to doctors and patients. Not only is it extremely painful for patients, but it is also very difficult for doctors to deal with. So let us now understand what to do if there is infection after fracture surgery!

1. Causes of wound infection after fracture surgery

Preoperative reasons: mainly because the wound preparation is simple, which produces more dirt, and some pollutants and bacteria are not thoroughly cleaned during the preoperative skin preparation. At the same time, if the timing of surgery is not good, the surgery is performed too early or the swelling is not reduced well, especially for patients with severe fracture injuries, the incision tension will be high after suturing, and infection is prone to occur after surgery.

Operation time: The longer the operation time, the greater the trauma to the patient's body and the longer the wound is exposed, which leads to a decrease in the body's resistance and makes wound infection more likely to occur.

Doctor's reasons: If the doctor is not familiar with the surgical procedure and the operation time is long, resulting in repeated bleeding at the fracture site and edema of the skin and soft tissue, postoperative infection is likely to occur. Another problem is that medical staff lack a strong sense of responsibility and fail to change dressings in time after surgery, which can easily induce infection.

2. What to do if the wound becomes infected after fracture surgery

Generally, wound infection after fracture surgery should be detected and treated early. After the diagnosis is confirmed, sensitive antibiotics are used for treatment, generally for 7-14 days, with the patient having no fever, no redness, swelling, heat or pain in the incision, no exudation, and low white blood cell sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein as reference. If the incision is obviously red and swollen, especially if there is fluctuation in the incision, remove some sutures in time to drain the accumulated fluid and pus. At the same time, change the dressing in time to avoid the dressing surface from getting wet. If it is ineffective, incision and debridement are required, and the internal fixation device should be removed at the same time. Anti-infection treatment should be continued after surgery. The secretions should be repeatedly taken out for bacterial culture within 3-5 days. When the culture results show no bacterial growth, there is no redness, swelling, heat or pain in the incision, no exudation, and low white blood cell sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein, debridement and suture of the incision should be performed in the second stage. Continue to give anti-infection and change dressings. Stop antibiotics when the patient has no fever, the incision is not red, swollen, hot or painful, there is no exudate, the white blood cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein are not high, and there is no bacterial growth in culture. If the above methods still fail to provide adequate relief, you may consider using Yu's Wound Healing Formula for dressing change treatment, which has a good effect on non-healing caused by inflammatory infection.

3. Tips

The surgeon must be familiar with the surgical procedure and surgical techniques to reduce the operation time, avoid repeated exsanguination, prevent re-injury of soft tissue, and avoid thrombosis. Stop bleeding thoroughly during surgery to avoid excessive bleeding after surgery and increase the probability of infection. Pay attention to daily wound care and proper diet so that you can recover as soon as possible.