Understanding effective management of postoperative wounds

Acute surgical wounds generally heal with no problems. However, some wounds blister around the periwound area and surgical site infection postoperatively, partly due to inappropriate choice of wound dressing. These complications can cause pain, discomfort, persistent wound leakage, and possible risk of surgical site infection (Jester et al, 2000; Bhattacharyya et al, 2005; Cosker et al, 2005). Postoperative blistering and infection have been identified as the main problems in hip and knee replacement surgery (Ravenscroft et al, 2006).