Guide To Appendicitis Treatment And Recovery

Keep Incision Clean And Dry

Doctors will give patients specific instructions on how to care for their incision following the surgery. At the core of the instructions will be to keep the wound dry and clean. If patients don't follow the correct protocol with their bandages or allow debris to get into the wound, it can become infected. Wounds from open surgery are more likely to become infected than wounds from laparoscopic surgery, but any major surgery comes with some risk of infection. If patients had open surgery, there may be one incision or several in their abdomen. They'll be covered in gauze and taped bandages following the surgery. Two days after getting home from the surgery, patients will need to take the bandage off the wounds. Patients should not put new bandages onto the wounds. They also shouldn't remove the sterilized strips of gauze. The strips must stay where they are for a minimum of seven to ten days. If they're removed early, the risk of infection becomes much higher.