What should I do if I suspect I am experiencing surgical wound infection?

Doctor's Answers 1

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Dr Stephen Chang

General Surgeon

If you have a suspicion, it is best to return to your surgeon to confirm if the wound is truly infected. There are 3 levels of infection:

  • Superficial: the infection affects only the skin
  • Deep: the infection affects the muscle and tissue
  • Organ/space: the infection affects the organ or space where you had surgery

Some signs of surgical wound infections include pus, redness, and pain around the area. Some people also experience fever.

An infection can happen because of exposure to our environment. It could also be because of improper wound care.

If you do have an infection, your surgeon is likely to open the wound to allow the pus to drain. He may take some culture from the wound and may then prescribe you with appropriate antibiotics.

Similar Questions

How long does an abscess take to heal after drainage? (photo)

Thank you for the question and the photo. May I ask, how did the abscess come on? When treated, did they take any swabs or treat with anti-biotic? If you have concerns about healing then it’s certainly worth speaking to your medical/surgical team as Dr Paul has suggested. Equally, if pain is an issue, Dr Sean’s suggestion of Dermatix would be worth a try. In terms of exercise, my suggestion would be to start with non-impact/non weight-bearing exercise, such as cycling. Swimming might not be a good idea with a healing wound.

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Answered By

Dr Dinesh Sirisena

Sport Medicine

What is the best way to expedite recovery for surgical wound?

Hi there Blythe, I highly recommend this Calecim Professional serum (80%). It is a serum derived from red deer umbilical cord stem cells. Thus it contains a high concentration of growth factors which aids in speedy healing. I have been using it for post-laser recovery, post – hair transplant recovery since it was launched 3 years ago and the results are significant. We are doing studies on it now for hair transplants. You can google more about them and where to buy them on their website.

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Answered By

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