Surgical Site Infection - Procedures, Side effects, Recovery time, Costs and alternatives

Surgical Site Infection is experienced by patients who have undergone surgery of some part of their body. Usually, the surgical site infection is experienced with the 30 days of the surgery. A patient is suffering from the surgical site infection if he/she has pus coming out from the wound, site of surgery is very painful on touch, and having a fever. There are three types of surgical site infections which can be experienced by a patient :

• Deep infection: It is a condition wherein the infection passes into the tissues and muscles of the patients.
• Infected organ: In this condition the organ of the patient which has undergone surgery gets infected.
• Superficial: In this scenario, the infection remains on the skin site of the surgery only and does not seep deep into the skin.

The treatment given for curing the patient of surgical site infection depends on the severity of the condition. Usually, patients with normal skin infection are prescribed antibiotic skin ointments. If the infection is running deep beyond the skin then either intravenous (IV) or oral antibiotics are preferred to be given. The choice of the antibiotic is made after determining the type of bacterial infection being experienced by the patient. The selection of an antibiotic is made easy after conducting the blood tests like blood culture to decide what the best antibiotic for the treatment is. If a patient does not get cured by the use of antibiotics and the infection continues to spread further then surgery of the infected site is the last resort to avoid further worsening of the condition. In the majority of the cases the surgery is performed to clean the wound from the pus which gets formed after surgery. However, in very severe cases the amputation surgery may be required to save the life of the patient.

If the surgical site infections are not treated properly then it can cause severe damage to the patient like losing limbs and death. A patient having surgical site infection can be treated in two ways:

The treatment for the surgical site infection is prescribed to the patient as soon as the surgery gets completed. The dose of either oral or intravenous antibiotic is started immediately after surgery. However, a patient is eligible for treatment if he/she exhibits the following conditions :

• Formation of pus within the surgical site
• When the foul smell is oozing out from the wound
• If a patient is experiencing a fever and chills after the surgery.
• The surgical site is very hot on touching.
• There are swelling and redness on and around the surgical site.
• If a patient is experiencing soreness and pain when touching the surgical site.

A patient who does not experience any infection after the surgery may not require any treatment. However, the doctor usually prescribes the antibiotics right after the surgery as a preventive measure. The chances of occurrence of an infection at the surgical site are quite high if proper preventive measures are not applied. Although, if proper care of the surgical site is taken then the chances of a patient requiring treatment may be negligible.

Treatment associated with any disease or illness has some minor or major side effects associated with them. A patient undergoing treatment may experience a minor side effect which vanishes after a period of time. However, in case of a serious side effect, the doctor must be consulted immediately. Some of the side effects associated with the use of antibiotic in the treatment of surgical site infections are :

• Loose Motions
• Allergic reactions
• Dry mouth
• Constipation
• Decreased appetite
• Vomiting
• Flatulence.

If a patient has to undergo surgically invasive treatment for the surgical site infections then he/she may experience the following side effects :

• Excruciating pain
• The recurrence of infection
• Anesthesia associated reactions. In case any of these side effects persists or there any other health issues arising during or after treatment, it is advised to kindly consult the health specialist immediately.

After the treatment for the surgical site infection is completed there are certain post-treatment guidelines which should be strictly followed by the patient or by the attendant of the patient :

• The surgical site must be cleaned regularly with antiseptic solutions or salinesolutions.
• The surgical site must not be touched with dirty hands.
• The surgical site must not be left open until wound completely heals.
• The bandage used for taping the wound should be sterile.
• Proper rest must be taken by the patient.
• Activities which put pressure on or near the surgical site must be avoided until complete recovery.
• The medicines prescribed by the doctor must be taken on time and regularly until the complete course is finished.

The time taken to recover from the surgical site infection may vary depending on the severity of the infection and the treatment being given to the patient. If the infection is minor then treatment with an oral antibiotic may lead to recovery within a week. If the infection is mild and the patient is responding to the intravenous antibiotic treatment then it might take 10 days to recover completely. However, in case of a severe infection wherein an invasive surgical procedure would be involved it might take weeks for a patient to completely recover.

The price of the treatment of surgical site infection in India varies based on the type of treatment being given to the patient. A patient gets treated cheaply if only oral antibiotics are prescribed by the doctor for a minor infection. The prices of the intravenous antibiotics are slightly higher than the oral ones. If a patient has to undergo invasive surgical procedure then the price of the treatment goes further up. If for cleaning the wound the doctor has to open the surgical site again then it would cost around 10000 to 20,000 thousand rupees. If the doctor is required to perform the surgery wherein the dead tissues are to be removed and prosthetic implantation is done then price of the treatment goes further up to approximately 50,000 to 1.5 lakh of rupees depending upon the hospital.

Treatment can be permanent only if the chances of recurrence of disease or illness are negligible. In a scenario where minor surgical site infections occur the treatment with antibiotics may be permanent. However, if the severity of the surgical site infection is very high and any surgical procedure is required then the treatment is not permanent as any surgical procedure invites infection of the surgical site to reoccur if not done safely and cleanly.

The surgical site infections most commonly get treated by the antibiotics or through some surgical procedures. However, there are certain natural remedies which can not only help in treating the surgical site infections but also preventing them from occurring in the future. A paste of onion and honey, when applied at the surgical site, prevents infection due to anti-microbial properties of the onion. Turmeric is being used for the healing and treatment of wound infections since the ages due to its antibiotic and antiseptic properties.