What It Is:

A surgical site infection is an infection of the tissue in or around a surgical wound. To be considered a surgical site infection, the infection must occur within 30 days after surgery when there is no implant or within one year if an implant was involved. Surgical site infections are a common complication of surgical procedures, making up about 22 percent of all hospital infections. The infection usually occurs during the operation itself and can be caused by contaminants on the medical equipment or implant, in the air, on the patient's skin, or on the surgeon or other medical staff.

Symptoms of surgical site infections include:

• A delay in healing of the surgical site
• Discoloration around the surgical site
• A foul odor coming from the surgical wound
• Pain or sever tenderness
• Severe swelling

Who is At Risk:

Anyone having a surgical procedure is at risk for getting a surgical site infection. But there are a number of factors that can increase your risk of developing this type of infection:

• A pre-existing infection that was left untreated prior to surgery
• Shaving the site (as opposed to clipping hair from the surgical site)
• Long duration of surgery
• Improper skin preparation
• Improper surgical team hand preparation
• Poor ventilation or sterilization in the operating room

What You Can Do:

• Ask your doctor about taking antibiotics an hour prior to surgery to reduce the risk of infection.
• Ask your doctor if you should wash with an antibiotic soap the day before surgery.

Treatment:

Treatments for surgical site infections may include antimicrobial dressings and antibiotic therapy. Sometimes additional procedures may also be necessary to remove infected tissue.