Surgical Wound Complication / SWC

Definition: An umbrella term that encompasses more specific diagnoses, such as surgical site infection (SSI), surgical wound dehiscence (SWD), hypergranulation, periwound maceration, scarring and medical adhesive-related skin injury (MARSI).

Surgical wound complications (SWCs) have been shown to delayed wound healing and contribute to significant morbidity, mortality, and socioeconomic costs. This may result in extended hospital stays, the need for revision surgeries, and increased demand for clinical resources, all of which lead to higher hospitalization costs.

Therefore, preventing surgical wound complications is a critical goal in patient care. The specific type of NPWT, closed incision NPWT (also referred to as prophylactic or preventative NPWT) is used on primary closure surgical sites to reduce risk of surgical site complications, such as surgical site infection (SSI), seroma, haematoma, local skin ischaemia and necrosis, surgical wound dehiscence (SWD) and delayed wound healing. Both traditional NPWT and sNPWT can be applied as ciNPWT depending on the characteristics of the wound and wound treatment setting.

The indications for ciNPWT and supporting evidence are constantly expanding, driven by new studies and the growing popularity of this prophylactic NPWT method.

An international panel of expert surgeons with extensive experience in NPWT recently aimed to evaluate and recommend where single-use NPWT (sNPWT) can best achieve optimal clinical results. Read and download the full article: sNPWT VivereX: Choosing single-use negative pressure wound therapy for hospital and home (international expert panel recommendation) (linkforwoundhealing.info)

Additionally, an expert international panel of NPWT specialists in plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) convened to discuss the appropriate use of NPWT in this specialty. Read and download the full article: Optimising the use of traditional NPWT in plastic and reconstructive surgery (linkforwoundhealing.info)

Learn more about Surgical Site Infection, one of the most significant postoperative surgical wound complications. This module includes updated definitions, key elements of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of SSI, and therapeutic recommendations aligned with recent international guidelines. Clinical cases are included to enhance understanding of SSI's clinical complexity. The module is available here: Surgical Site Infection - E-Learning Course | LINK for Wound Healing

(Source: Sandy-Hodgetts K. et al. (2020) International best practice recommendation for the early identification and prevention of surgical wound complications, Wounds International, 2020)

Last edited: November 18, 2024

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Surgical Wound Complication / SWC