International Orthopaedics
2010 Jun 10. [Epub ahead of print]
Doursounian L, Maigne JY, Cherrier B, Pacanowski J.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Saint-Antoine University Hospital, APHP, 184 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Antoine, 75012, Paris, France.
Abstract
Postoperative infection is a regular complication in coccygectomy. The authors propose the use of a topical skin adhesive on the postoperative wound as a contribution to the prevention of this complication. It was used on the first 56 patients in this study. The rate of infection was 3.6% compared with the 14% rate of infection in a previous study.
The 80 following patients had, in addition to the skin adhesive, two prophylactic antibiotics for 48 hours (cefamandole and ornidazole), a preoperative rectal enema, and closure of the incision in two layers. The rate of infection dropped to 0.0%.
Topical skin adhesive constitutes a significant contribution in the prevention of infection after coccygectomy.