1 Flashcards
(35 cards)
Why do we suture tissues?
- Increase speed of healing
- Increase strength of healed tissue
- Decrease scar tissues
What are the four main sources of organisms in surgery?
- Patient
- Personnel
- Instruments
- Environment
Why do we preform surgery? (6)
- Therapeutic -> to solve the problem
- Diagnostic -> to find the problem
- Increase suitability -> eg castration
- Palliative -> to decrease pain/discomfort
- Bio-medical research
- Cosmetic
What are some patient factors that affect our choice of whether or not to undertake surgery?
- Nature of disease/trauma (broken leg from playing vs hit by car)
- Overall health of patient
- Physical exam
- Signalment
- Preop diagnostics eg Xray/bloods
What are some Client factors that affect our choice of whether or not to undertake surgery?
- Expected outcomes
- Potential complications
- extent of aftercare
- Costs (before/during/after surgery)
What are some surgical factors that affect our choice of whether or not to undertake surgery?
- Is it the only treatment?
- Is it the best option?
- When?
- What method
- Who should preform it?
- Where should it take place?
List Halsted’s Principles.
Aseptic technique Gentle tissue handling Haemostasis Close approximation of Wound layers Minimise dead space Minimise Tension Minimise foreign material **Phone a friend
What things make a surgical room/environment ideal?
- Isolated from general traffic
- 1 entry/exit point
- Contaminated procedures done elsewhere
- humidity
Explain the phases of wound healing
- Inflammatory phase
- protects body from excessive blood loss and bacterial invasion
- degree/duration reflects severity of injury
- Skin retraction, initial bleeding (flushing) followed by vasoconstriction and clotting
- mast cells and leukocytes - Debridement
- the “get rid of the dead” phase
- neutrophils if infection, macrophages if not - Proliferative/repair phase
- formation of granulation tissue
- migration of fibroblasts -> collagen -> wound contraction
- epithelialisation
- Contraction stops when skin tension = myofibroblast activity or skin meets skin - Re-modelling phase
- collagen orientates itself along lines of tension -> increased strength
- scar tissue will always be 15-20% weaker than surrounding tissue
What factors must be considered before deciding to close a wound (rather than manage it as an open wound)?
- Wound classification (clean/clean-contaminated/contaminated/dirty)
- Amount of tissue trauma (blood supply status, amount of potentially necrotic tissue)
- Patients general health (can they cope w/ anesthesia)
- Extent of free skin in adjacent areas
What steps do you follow when presented with an open wound?
- prevent further contamination (KY gel, clipping etc)
- lavage (the solution to pollution is dilution)
- debride
- Select closure method (if applicable)
- Drainage (if applicable)
- Patient health - analgesia, antibiotics, nutrition
- Selection of bandaging materials
Name some indications/reasons for bandaging (6)
- Provides optimal environment for healing + protection from further injury
- Provide support for internal injuries
- Exert pressure and decrease dead space
- Absorb exudates
- Provide aesthetic appearance
Explain the function of the three main layers of bandages.
Primary -provides a warm, moist, well oxygenated environment Secondary - absorption and support Tertiary - protect primary layer from environment and patient - holds other layers in place - somewhat waterproof but porous - in some cases, apply pressure
How can you manage dead space?
- Bandages for light compression
- close approximation of like tissues
- use of tacking sutures in deep planes
- leave dependent portion of wound open
- placement of surgical drains
Compare and Contrast active and passive drains.
Both drains are used in an attempt to manage dead space Passive - works via capillary action and gravity - wicks around the drain - best for subcutaneous space - Fenestration does not improve activity Active - applied suction - fenestration improves activity - good for high volumes of fluid - Or for when gravity won't work in your favour - better for deep wounds/body cavity - may block with necrotic tissue
What are the three main types of suture patterns? Give reasons for use and examples for each.
- Appositional
- bring like edges together
- rapid healing, strong, less scarring
- eg. simple interrupted/continuous, ford interlocking, intradermal - Inverting
- used when contaminated edges may need protecting for example a gastrotomy
- eg Connel, Utrecht - Everting
- tension relieving
- may suture over stents to distribute tension further
- eg. vertical mattress
- simple interrupted may be added to maintain tissue plane apposition
What questions should be considered when selecting a suture material?
- Absorbable or non-absorbable? If absorbable, short, medium or long acting?
- Synthetic or natural?
- Mono or Multi filament?
- Size (just stronger than the tissue in which it is placed)
What should be considered when choosing a needle?
- Attachment (swaged on or eyed)
- Profile (cutting or round)
- Shape (curved or straight)
- Size
What are some ways you can improve “gentle tissue handling”
- increase surgeons
- sharp dissection where possible
- dissection along tissue planes
- appropriate equipment
- good visualization
- decrease tissue manipulation (eg stay sutures)
- decrease tissue desiccation
- decrease heat when drilling/sawing bone
What are some consequences of haemorrhage?
- decrease visualisation
- increased chance of infection
- increased dead space
- shock w/ >30% blood loss
- > 10% haemodynamically affects the animal
How can you achieve haemostasis in large bleeds? What about smaller ones?
Large bleeds - ligation, haemostats/clips, cellulose/gelatin plug, vasoconstrictors
Small bleeds - digital pressure, haemostats, corterisation
List the 6 ways to reduce tension
undermining tension relieving suture patterns tension relieving incisions skin flaps skin graphs skin stretching
What are the 3 requirements for the establishment of an infection?
- Sufficient dose of pathogenic microorganisms
- Suitable microbial nutrient medium
- impairment of natural host defenses
When are antibiotics indicated?
- In confirmed infected cases
- In contaminated/dirty wounds
- In animals with a low immune system
- In long surgeries
- When infection could be disastrous