Preoperative Wound Care

Preoperatively, the patient is prepared for surgery. This is the history and physical examination, the HNP. The HNP is the physicians greatest ally. The HNP consists of the history of present illness, past medical history, past surgical history, current medicines, allergies, family history, social history, review of systems, and the physical examination itself. Knowing the current medical problems, medicines and so on, gives the doctor a clue about why the wound is not healing. For that matter, any medical problem, the HNP provides the physician clues about the overall health of the patient. Understanding the sequence of events leading to the wound, the history of present illness, and the sequence of treatment already provided will give the physician valuable insight. The physical examination confirms what the physician already suspects about the wound. The physician may order lab work as well as to confirm what he thinks is going on. Analysis of the information leads to a care plan. Recommendations are part of the plan, which may or may not involve surgery. During this preoperative phase, the caregiver, using the doctors recommendations, will optimize as much as possible the medical health of the patient before surgery. This includes proper nutrition, health prescriptions, basic wound care, and dressings.