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General Surgery

Incisions, Closures, and Management of the Abdominal Wound

Built from Maingot's Abdominal Operations

What’s inside

11 sections · 182 slides

  1. 01

    Overview

    • Topics covered
    • Impact of the incision on surgical outcome
    • Requirements of an adequate incision

    3 slides

  2. 02

    Choosing the incision

    Orientation, site, the evidence behind each choice, and preparing the skin

    • Orientation of abdominal incisions
    • Flexibility of the vertical midline incision
    • Incisions matched to the site of disease
    • Anatomical argument for transverse incisions
    • Evidence on vertical versus transverse incisions
    • Wound infection in the transverse incision trial
    • Midline versus paramedian incisions
    • Lateral paramedian incision
    • Re-entering the abdomen through an old scar
    • Preparation of the surgical site
    • Choice of skin antiseptic

    11 slides

  3. 03

    Vertical incisions

    Midline, paramedian and the vertical muscle-splitting incision

    • Exposure gained by the midline incision
    • Surface marking of the upper midline incision
    • Making the midline incision
    • Layers divided in a midline incision
    • Safe entry into the peritoneum
    • Dividing the linea alba and peritoneum
    • Protecting the viscera as the wound is opened
    • Surface marking of the upper paramedian incision
    • Making a paramedian incision
    • Freeing the rectus muscle from the anterior sheath
    • Hazards during the paramedian dissection
    • Lower paramedian incision: skin to rectus muscle
    • Lower paramedian incision: vessels and peritoneum
    • Vertical muscle-splitting incision

    14 slides

  4. 04

    Transverse and oblique incisions

    Kocher, McBurney, Rockey-Davis and Pfannenstiel

    • Principles of transverse and oblique incisions
    • Nerve supply of the rectus muscle
    • Indications for the Kocher subcostal incision
    • Technique of the Kocher subcostal incision
    • McBurney and Rockey-Davis incisions
    • Surface markings for appendicectomy incisions
    • Placing the appendicectomy incision
    • Layers split in the muscle-splitting approach
    • Why the muscles are split rather than cut
    • Opening the oblique muscles for appendicectomy
    • Opening the peritoneum and delivering the appendix
    • Enlarging the appendicectomy wound
    • Pfannenstiel incision
    • Steps of the Pfannenstiel incision
    • Advantages and limits of the Pfannenstiel incision

    15 slides

  5. 05

    Chest and retroperitoneal approaches

    Thoracoabdominal incisions and routes that stay behind the peritoneum

    • Exposure gained by a thoracoabdominal incision
    • Restrictions on the thoracoabdominal incision
    • Corkscrew position and the line of the incision
    • Corkscrew position and the abdominal part of the incision
    • Entering the chest
    • Opening the diaphragm
    • Two ways of opening the diaphragm
    • Closing a thoracoabdominal incision
    • Advantages of retroperitoneal and extraperitoneal approaches
    • Structures reached from behind the peritoneum
    • Retroperitoneal approach to the lumbar area
    • Left lumbar approach to the retroperitoneum
    • Landmarks and closure in the lumbar approach
    • Posterior approach to the kidney and adrenal gland
    • Posterior approach to the kidney and adrenal gland
    • Reaching Gerota's fascia
    • Managing pleural injury in the posterior approach
    • Retroperitoneal approach to the iliac fossa
    • Extraperitoneal approach to the iliac vessels and ureter

    19 slides

  6. 06

    Laparoscopic access

    Getting into the abdomen through small incisions, safely

    • Principles of laparoscopic access
    • Hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery
    • Site of first entry
    • Open (Hasson) technique
    • Securing the Hasson cannula
    • Closed (Veress needle) technique
    • Confirming Veress needle placement
    • Signs of wrong Veress needle placement
    • Radially expanding and optical access trocars
    • Open versus closed entry
    • Safety data for open versus closed entry
    • Rules for placing additional ports

    12 slides

  7. 07

    Closing the abdomen

    Fascia, suture choice, skin, retention sutures and mesh

    • Most common
    • Factors that raise the risk of wound failure
    • Mass closure versus layered closure
    • Arguments over suture material
    • Evidence on suture material
    • Why braided permanent suture behaves worst
    • Rate of resorption of different suture materials
    • Suture materials that do not resorb
    • Reading the suture resorption table
    • Continuous versus interrupted closure
    • Recommended approach to laparotomy closure
    • Technique of mass closure
    • Placing the mass closure bite
    • The completed mass closure
    • Bite size and tension in mass closure
    • Suture length to wound length ratio
    • Skin closure options
    • Staples versus subcuticular suture
    • Tissue glue for skin closure
    • Skin closure in contaminated wounds
    • Fascial dehiscence and its consequences
    • Sources of raised intra-abdominal pressure
    • Retention sutures: purpose and evidence
    • Drawbacks of retention sutures
    • Selecting patients for retention sutures
    • Placing retention sutures
    • Mesh underlay for the at-risk closure
    • Biologic implants and complex reconstruction
    • Closure of laparoscopic port sites
    • Devices that help port-site closure

    30 slides

  8. 08

    Temporary closure and the open abdomen

    Damage control, dressings that hold the abdomen open, and later closure

    • Origins of temporary abdominal closure
    • The three phases of damage control
    • Survival data behind damage control
    • Patients who benefit from temporary closure
    • Bogota bag and plastic drapes
    • Absorbable mesh as a temporary cover
    • Wittman patch
    • Open abdomen technique
    • Barrier placed over the abdominal contents
    • Drains and dressing over the barrier
    • Preventing loss of abdominal domain
    • Abdominal vacuum-assisted closure
    • Limits of the prolonged open abdomen

    13 slides

  9. 09

    Managing the wound after operation

    Dressings, and what the evidence says about leaving the wound alone

    • Purpose of the postoperative dressing
    • Evidence on removing the dressing
    • Types of surgical dressing
    • Vacuum-assisted closure dressing

    4 slides

  10. 10

    Wound complications

    Infection, necrotising infection, seroma, haematoma, dehiscence

    • 7.3
    • Bacterial load and the role of foreign material
    • Risk factors for surgical site infection
    • Further risk factors for infection
    • Classification of surgical site infection by depth
    • Reading the infection criteria table
    • Criteria for defining surgical site infections
    • Criteria for defining surgical site infections, continued
    • Classifying wounds by contamination
    • Classification of surgical wounds
    • Classification of surgical wounds, continued
    • Risk scoring systems: SENIC and NNIS
    • Organisms responsible for infection
    • Antibiotic prophylaxis: which drug
    • Antibiotic prophylaxis: timing and dose
    • Bowel preparation before colorectal surgery
    • Reading the prevention recommendations
    • Preoperative measures to prevent surgical site infections
    • Team and theatre measures to prevent infection
    • Asepsis, surgical technique and surveillance measures
    • Wound closure, incision care and reporting of infection rates
    • Treatment of incisional infection
    • Treatment of deep space infection
    • Necrotising wound infection: how it presents
    • Signs that should raise suspicion
    • Laboratory and imaging findings
    • Treatment of necrotising infection
    • Repeat inspection after debridement
    • Gas gangrene
    • Hyperbaric oxygen in clostridial infection
    • Two types of necrotising fasciitis
    • Type I necrotising fasciitis
    • Type II necrotising fasciitis
    • Antibiotics in necrotising fasciitis
    • Seroma
    • Wound haematoma
    • When a haematoma needs the operating theatre
    • Stitch abscess
    • Suture material and stitch abscess
    • 1-3%
    • Recognising dehiscence
    • Patient factors linked with dehiscence
    • Managing dehiscence and evisceration
    • Choices at reclosure
    • Non-operative management of dehiscence
    • Incisional hernia

    46 slides

  11. 11

    Summary

    The points worth carrying away

    • Key points: choosing and making the incision
    • Key points: closure
    • Key points: wound complications
    • References
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    • Maingot's Abdominal Operations, 12th Edition

    15 slides