Technology and product reviews References


19Thomas S. A structured approach to the selection of dressings. World Wide Wounds; 1997; Available at: http:// www.worldwidewounds.com/1997/


july/Thomas-Guide/Dress-Select.html (accessed 2 May, 2012).


20Davies PM, Rippon M. Comparison of foam and hydrocolloid dressings in


the management of wounds: a review of the published literature. World Wide Wounds. 1997; Available at: http:// www.worldwidewounds.com/2010/


July/DaviesRippon/DaviesRippon.html (accessed 2 May, 2012).


wound and surrounding skin, which can lead to increased wound-related pain, a reduced quality of life for the patient, and delayed wound healing. Dressings that can be removed easily help to minimise pain and discomfort to patients, which encourages patient compliance and supports wound healing [20]


.


Assessment Form – Mepilex Border (Post-incisional Wound Care)


® Case report form


Surgical Department Date: ............................................................................................. Nurse initials:


Hip Knee


Patient’s year of birth: ................................................................. Patients gender: Male Incision site:


Dressing size applied: 10x20cm Patient’s skin status before the intervention: Was the dressing easy to apply? 10x25cm Healthy 1 Very difficult


............................................................................ Female


Other: ........................................................................................... 10x30cm


Fragile: ..................................................................................... 2


3 4 5 Very easy


CONCLUSION This study determined that the use of Mepilex Border in the post-operative care of hip and knee arthroplasty wounds was effective at preventing the formation of skin blisters. This result further indicates the importance of dressing selection in post-operative wound care management. Dressings that prevent the formation of


Post-operative Care


Did the dressing have to be changed for any reason other than for routine wound assessment? No


Yes, due to: Dressing full of exudate Leakage Poor adherence


Other: (please give details) .................................................................................................................................................................................................................


Exudate level: Blisters:


Low No Yes:


Number ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... When was/were the blister(s) detected? (i.e. how long after first post-operative application of dressing) 0-24hr


24-48hr


Location of blister(s): Size of largest blister:


>48hr


Wound edges 1–3mm


Other skin reactions observed: No


Under the dressing 3–5mm larger than 5mm


Yes: ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 1


2 Was the dressing easy to apply? Did staples/sutures adhere to the dressing?: Very difficult No Was there any evidence of bleeding at dressing removal?: Overall evaluation of the dressing: Very poor Yes No 1 2


Yes 3


4 5 Very good 3 4 5 Very easy Beyond the limits of the dressing


Signature: .................................................................................................................................................................................................................


AUTHOR DETAILS CATHARINA JOHANSSON is the Operating Room Head at Alingsas Hospital, Alingsas, Sweden. TINA HJALMARSSON is the Operating Room Nurse at Alingsas Hospital, Alingsas, Sweden. MARIA BERGENTZ is the Intensive Care Head Nurse at Alingsas Hospital, Alingsas, Sweden. MARIANNE MELIN is a Care Ward Nurse at Alingsas Hospital, Alingsas, Sweden. PERNILLA SANDSTEDT is a Care Ward Nurse at Alingsas Hospital, Alingsas, Sweden. CARINA JOHANSSON is a Care Ward Nurse at Alingsas Hospital, Alingsas, Sweden.


34 Wounds International Vol 3 | Issue 2 | ©Wounds International 2012 Medium High


post-operative skin blisters, a prevalent surgical complication, could not only significantly reduce patient pain and trauma but also have serious implications for the overall treatment costs. Further research to substantiate this positive


result would be to perform a prospective, randomised trial with an appropriate comparator group, including all dressing changes until complete wound healing has been achieved.


STUDY LIMITATIONS The potential limitations of this study are its short duration and its subjective nature. The post-operative wound status of each patient was assessed only once, at the initial dressing change. For the majority of patients this was on the fourth post-operative day, an average time taken for wound blisters to appear [4]


. A sub-population of patients did require


their dressings to be changed at earlier time points and the wound status at the subsequent dressing changes was not recorded. Furthermore, the wound dressing changes were based on the subjective opinion of the nursing staff rather than an objective assessment. In some cases dressings may have been removed prematurely and other dressings left in place too long. Upon analysis, those wounds that required


an early dressing change were generally found to be high-to-medium exuding wounds (75%). However, in spite of these shortcomings, this study provides an insight into the ‘real-life’ performance of the test dressing. All of the patients scheduled for hip or knee arthroplasty within the time frame of the study were included; no exclusion criteria was used.


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