The enduring threat of surgical site infections (SSIs) is alarming....

Skin antisepsis practices that destroy microorganisms and inhibit the microbial load on your patients’ skin should be the cornerstone of every surgical procedure...

Surgical site infections (SSIs), among the most common complications in health care, are responsible for delayed wound healing, hospital readmissions...

If you give a patient the choice between a one-and-a-half-centimeter incision on the crease in their wrist with a speedy recovery prognosis or a four-to-five...

A healthy patient population is a cornerstone of outpatient surgery. Those fortunate enough to be greenlighted for same-day procedures get to...

The number of unintended retained surgical items (URSIs) reported to The Joint Commission (TJC) continued to decline in 2022, with 88 events disclosed...

Successful wound care is about staying true to the basics. Not every surgical wound will need an antimicrobial dressing or wound vac. But paying special attention to closing every surgical site properly...

Juan A. Sanchez, MD, FACS, describes the OR as a “target-rich environment for sharps injuries.” Dr. Sanchez is the chair of the committee on Perioperative Care at the American College of Surgeons, and he says a perfect storm of factors in...

Test your staff’s knowledge on instrument cleaning, sharps safety, wound care and other ways to keep patients and staff safe.

The anterior or the posterior approach — which is better for total hip replacements? The debate has raged in the orthopedic community at conferences, in journals and online as surgeons often discuss the technique...

Knee and hip replacement patients who develop deep wound infections postoperatively can suffer dire consequences. Infected patients require several weeks of antibiotic...

Recently, Edward Oates, MD, a trauma and orthopedic surgeon in Germany, posted a question to #orthotwitter: “How do you avoid cuts to your distal interphalangeal joints when using suture thread?” After many providers replied...

About 45 minutes before surgery, Joseph Nessler, MD, will stop by pre-op to mark the correct surgical site of his total joint patients. He’ll say hello, note his initials where he intends to cut and ask if the patient has any last-minute questions....

Nothing is more devastating than a preventable surgical site infection (SSI) complicating an otherwise perfectly executed procedure, which is why effective management...

The sweet spot for an adult’s core body temperature throughout the perioperative experience is 36.5°C to 37.5°C, but maintaining this safe temperature range can be a challenge — and a safety concern, according to...

No matter how hard one tries, the skin simply cannot be made sterile. It can, however, be made surgically clean. Optimizing the skin’s cleanliness prior to surgery is the target that...

If you doubt the contention that it can take years — or even decades — for evidence to trickle into clinical practice, look no further than the lack of progress in implementing...

Total hip replacement is a life-changing operation. Patients who were once riddled with pain are able to move about freely and return to their routine activities. Efforts to ensure...

Few things are more devastating for patients than a pain-free, perfectly executed procedure that results in a completely preventable surgical site infection (SSI). In fact,...

Last May, the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) revised its guideline for patient skin antisepsis to provide evidence-based practices that reduce...