Pre-op infection prevention info

[Roy Gardiner]

Interesting; no mention of anything whatsoever was made to me before going to surgery.

 

[inthebeginning]

Hey, don't forget us hipsters! I'm up for my R THR on 9/17. I had my pre-op class last week. I was given a bottle of Hibiclens and a packet of 5 sterile washcloths. Use one each of the 5 days prior to surgery. Specific instructions were to start on the surgery site and wash in a circular motion eventually hitting your whole body except for genitals and above the neck. When one of the other patients asked if they cound use Betadine, the nurse said that Betadine actually kills good skin cells as well as the bacteria! Hibiclens only kills the bad stuff.

They also advised that my OS will prescribe a nasal gel to use the same 5 days prior. The nasal gel is to clean out any potential for MRSA. Clean bedding before we leave for the hospital, yada, yada, yada.

The excellent article in the OP mentioned 'Project Joints'. I googled that and I found this website, Institute for Healthcare Improvement. This organization offers to rate hospitals as Exemplar according to their infection prevention approach. The list of hospitals is broken link removed: https://www.ihi.org/offerings/Initiatives/ProjectJOINTS/Pages/ExemplarHospitals.aspx. Happy to report my hospital, Sky Ridge Medical Center, is on the list!

Happy scrubbing

 

[lookingforward]

Great link, thanks. Sounds like my hospital is on board with the infection prevention. Makes me feel assured they are doing everything they can to prevent infections.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Good to know. A year ago when I had an ankle surgery, they had me scrub from head to toe, in a specific order, with some kind of cleansing wipes in the pre-op area just before they took me in for the surgery. I didn't ask for specifics on why-I just did what they asked, but now I see what that's for. The last thing I want when I have my RTKR is an infection so am glad there is a lot of awareness these days.

 

[VancouverUSAgal]

I used Hibiclens on my whole body even when I was just having hand surgery. However, they do recommend rinsing very thoroughly because it's quite drying to the skin. And yes, using a Loofah or any other scratchy thing on your skin before surgery would not be a good idea - same reason they say no shaving. It comes in liquid in a bottle and also in little pads for convenience when you're not showering.