90 WOUND TREATMENT 



simple precautions protective dressings are deprived of 

 all harm. 



The Surgical Field as a Conveyor of Infection 



A good liberal zone around a wound or proposed seat 

 of a wound must be submitted to the classical cleansing 

 process, now regarded as standard for this purpose. It 

 consists in washing with water and soap, clipping, shav- 

 ing, rinsing, and rubbing briskly with mercuric chlorid 

 (1 to 500), and then painting with tincture of iodin. 

 This does not positively sterilize the skin of a hairy ani- 

 mal, but it combines the best means of producing the 

 safest possible field for a cutting operation. 



The surgical field conveys infection during the opera- 

 tion by being directly at the wound, and after the opera- 

 tion by the growth of bacteria on the serum-soaked skin. 

 It is therefore evident that any laxity or omission here 

 is serious. 



Postoperative Conveyors of Infection 



As mentioned in the foregoing paragraphs, postoper- 

 ative infection is not so common as is generally supposed 

 or, better still, not so common as the surgeon would have 

 his clients believe. That there are postoperative infec- 

 tions is of course admitted, but the search for causes will 

 usually be more successful if the operative methods are 

 scrutinized. 



It is, however, plain that the same careful handling of 

 everything that prevailed during the operation must be 

 continued during the after-care, especially during the 

 first four days. It is a misfortune to be compelled to 

 turn over the after-care of wounds to untrained hands, 

 but if we plan our after-care with this in view we can 



