What immediate action should the nurse take?

Wound dehiscence of approximately 2cm at the centre of the wound line occurs following removal of the sutures. What immediate action should the nurse take?





Lynn Smith, 74 years, had a total hip replacement. Her suture line was closed with plain interrupted sutures. The postoperative orders indicate removal of sutures in seven days.|||First off, most nurses should have been trained to assess the wound first prior to removing the sutures, and then to start removing every other suture. That way, dehiscence will be kept to a minimum if it does occur. If the wound does open, they should reassess the wound for signs of infection, contact the physician to see what the physician would like to do. If the wound is not deep, and appears to be free of infection, they may want to apply steri-strips and cover with a dressing. If there is some depth to the wound, it may need to be packed, most likely with a moist to dry dressing. The physician may or may not request that antibiotic cream be placed on the wound. Either way, the nurse needs to document the status of the wound, report to the physician and recheck frequently for signs and symptoms of infection and wound closure.|||call the doc and go from there.......unfortunately (at times) its all up to the doc