BIOSAFETY IN SURGICAL DRESSING ROOMS How to care for an incision, and dressing

1. BIOSAFETY IN SURGICAL
DRESSING ROOMS
How to care for an incision, and dressing
Dr.T.V.Rao MD
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2. Taking care of Wounds a Priority
One to be familiar
• When applying or changing
dressings, an aseptic
technique is used in order to
avoid introducing infections
into a wound. Even if a wound
is already infected, an aseptic
technique should be used as it
is important that no further
infection is introduced.
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3. DRESSING ROOM BIOSAFETY A
PRIORITY
•Position the
patient
comfortably and
make sure the
surrounding area
is clean and tidy
before you start.
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5. Preparing oneself to do Dressing with safety
• Wash your hands and put on an
apron.
• Clean the trolley using soap and
water, or disinfectant, and a cloth.
Start at the top of the trolley and
work down to the bottom legs of
the trolley using single strokes
with your damp cloth.
• Place the sterile
dressing/procedure pack on the
top of the trolley.
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6. Change the Surgical Bandage
• Before changing Dressing
you must wash your hands.
Why? Now that you have
your dirty bandage off, it is
important to clean your
hands again before touching
your incision. The bandage
and your hands will both have
bacteria on them at this point
so washing again is essential.
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7. Cleaning the Incision
• Use soap and water to
gently clean the incision,
you do not have to use
antibacterial soap. Do
not scrub the incision,
remove scabs, or
attempt to clean the
sutures or staples.
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8. Changing a regular dressing over
incision
•Wash your
hands before
starting the
dressing
change.
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10. Major principles for wound
dressing
• Use Standard Precautions at all
times.
• When using a swab or gauze to
cleanse a wound, work from the
clean area out toward the dirtier
area. (Example: When cleaning a
surgical incision, start over the
incision line, and swab downward
from top to bottom). Change the
swab and proceed again on either
side of the incision, using a new
swab each time.
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11. Work with aseptic methods to change the
dressings
•Open the sterile dressing
pack on top of the
trolley. Open the sterile
field using the corners of
the paper.
•Open any other sterile
items needed onto the
sterile field without
touching them.
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12. Disposing the Old Dressing
•Remove the old
dressing by only
touching the
edges. Throw
away the old
dressing in the
garbage.
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13. Wash your hands again.
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14. Prepare to take a New Dressing
replacing the old dressing
•Open a sterile
dressing package by
holding the upper two
edges of the package
and pull sideways,
rather than tearing
the package open.
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15. Prepare yourself next action to replace the Old
dressing
• Keep the new dressing
inside the sterile package
until you are ready to put it
over your incision.
• Touch only the edges of the
new dressing. Do not touch
any part of the dressing
that will be on the incision.
• Tape all sides of the
dressing securely.
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16. The Nurses should follow the Instructions for
Biosafety
• If there is a drainage
tube, be sure to cover
this area with the
dressing.
• Follow any special
instructions your doctor
or nurse gives you.
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17. Cleaning and Irrigating the Surgical
Wounds
• When irrigating a wound,
warm the solution to room
temperature, preferably to
body temperature, to
prevent lowering of the
tissue temperature. Be sure
to allow the irritant to flow
from the cleanest area to
the contaminated area to
avoid spreading pathogens.
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18. Taking care of the incision site
•Wash your hands
before caring for your
incision.
•Do not apply any
creams, salves,
ointments or powders
unless you have been
told to do so.
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19. Follow your surgeon's directions for sutures or
staples, Steri-Strips® or special dressings. If you
had:
•sutures or staples: they
will be removed at your
follow-up appointment
•Steri-Strips (thin paper-
like strips over the
incision): they will begin
to fall off as the incision
heals. They do not need
to be replaced.
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20. After the procedure
• Fold up the dressing/procedure pack and place all contaminated material in
a bag designated for clinical waste, making sure all sharps are removed and
disposed of in a sharps container.
• Remove gloves and place in waste bag.
• Wash your hands.
• Clean the trolley with soap and water or disinfectant solution as before.
• Record (document) on the patient's chart your wound assessment, the
dressing change and the care you have given.
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21. Monitoring the Wound
• Report any unusual changes
in your wound. Call your
doctor if you see signs of
infection, or if any strange
things occur around the
wound.
• Again, if you have a bad
smelling odour coming from
your wound, pus coming out
of the wound, or excessive
amounts of pain, call your
doctor.
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22. Surgical Wound Monitoring from Home
Recent Advances with Technology
• A smartphone app called
Wound Care is
successfully enabling
patients to remotely
send images of their
surgical wounds for
monitoring by nurses.
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23. Surgical Wound Monitoring from Home
Recent Advances with Technology
•The app was developed by researchers from the
Wisconsin Institute of Surgical Outcomes
Research (WiSOR), Department of Surgery,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, with the goal
of earlier detection of surgical site infections
and prevention of hospital readmissions. The
study results appeared on the website of the
Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
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24. Teach Dressing management to patients
•Provide the patient with
some dressing
management education
and answer any
questions before you
go.
•Report any changes to a
senior nurse or doctor.
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25. •The Program crated by Dr.T.V.Rao MD for
benefit of Medical, Nursing and
Paramedical who care for the dressing
rooms
•Email
•doctortvrao@gmail.com
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