DOES PREOPERATIVE SURGICAL SITE HAIR REMOVAL FOR ELECTIVE ABDOMINAL SURGERY HAVE AN IMPACT ON SURGICAL SITE INFECTION? AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY.

Smruti Ranjan  Hota; Chinmaya Ranjan  Behera; Abinash  Kanungo; Subrajit  Mishra

doi:10.51168/sjhrafrica.v5i6.1248

Authors

Smruti Ranjan Hota Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Hitech Medical College and Hospital, Rourkela, Odisha, India
Chinmaya Ranjan Behera Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, lMS & SUM Campus 2, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Abinash Kanungo Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, IMS & SUM Campus 2, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Subrajit Mishra Assistant Professor, Department of General Surgery, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51168/sjhrafrica.v5i6.1248

Keywords:

Surgical site infection, shaving, preoperative hair removal

Abstract

Background

The surgical site infection and the role of hair on the surgical site play an important role in avoiding the stated complication. This study is conducted to determine the effect of shaving on the occurrence of surgical site infection

Method

This was a prospective observational study conducted for a year. The participants who underwent abdominal surgery participated in the surgery. One of the two groups before the surgery had shaved, and the other did not shave. The occurrence of surgical site infection, the grading of the wound, and the grading of the pain were compared statistically among both groups.

Results

The study included 100 participants with a mean age of 43.5 years and a mean BMI of 22.88 kg/m². SSIs were reported in 11% of cases, with no statistically significant difference between the shaved and unshaved groups. Wound grading and pain assessment also showed no significant differences.

Conclusion

This study concluded that shaving did not have any effect on the occurrence of surgical site infection after the surgery.

Recommendation

Shaving should be avoided before performing the surgery; this decreases the chances of post-operative complications such as surgical site infection