The Role of Hair Shaving in Skull Base Surgery

2003 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziv Gil ◽  
Jacob T. Cohen ◽  
Sergei Spektor ◽  
Dan M. Fliss

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate surgical wound infection rates in patients undergoing skull base surgery without hair removal. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective study of 175 skull base operations performed without hair removal. Anterior operations were conducted via the subcranial approach (n = 120) and lateral or posterior procedures via various approaches (n = 55). Wounds were examined daily during hospitalization and at routine outpatient follow-up (8 to 45 months) and classified according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. RESULTS: The overall surgical wound infection rate was 1.1% (2 of 175): 0.8% (1 of 120) for anterior and 1.8% (1 of 55) for lateral or posterior procedures. It was similar for clean operations (lateral and posterior) and clean-contaminated (anterior) procedures and was less than or similar to the rates reported for skull base procedures with hair removal. No wound infection occurred among the infected (trauma, fungal infections, and brain abscess) patients. CONCLUSIONS: Skull base surgery without hair removal is safe and not associated with increased risk of wound infection. The method may prevent additional psychologic stress, promote restoration of the patient's self-image, and accelerate his or her return to normal life.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Sheema Gaffar ◽  
John K. Birknes ◽  
Kenji M. Cunnion

Fungal infections are rare causes of acute surgical wound infections, butCandidais not an infrequent etiology in chronic wound infections.Trichophytonspecies is a common cause of tinea capitis but has not been reported as a cause of neurosurgical wound infection. We report a case ofTrichophyton tonsuranscausing a nonhealing surgical wound infection in a 14-year-old male after hemicraniectomy. His wound infection was notable for production of purulent exudate from the wound and lack of clinical improvement despite empiric treatment with multiple broad-spectrum antibiotics targeting typical bacterial causes of wound infection. Multiple wound cultures consistently grewTrichophytonfungus, and his wound infection clinically improved rapidly after starting terbinafine and discontinuing antibiotics.


Head & Neck ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 823-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan P. Rodrigo ◽  
Carlos S?rez ◽  
Ricardo Bernaldez ◽  
Diego Collado ◽  

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 237-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Reimer ◽  
C. Gleed ◽  
L.E. Nicolle

AbstractWe undertook a study of postdischarge infections to assess the reliability of a surgical wound surveillance program in a 930-bed teaching hospital. During a six-month period, a subset of operations performed each day was randomly selected and patients interviewed by telephone one month postsurgery using a standard set of questions. The infection rate for all patients contacted directly postdischarge was 5.4%, whereas the surgical wound infection rate determined for all procedures through the standard hospital program was 1.5%. For day-surgery patients, who are not routinely followed in the hospital surveillance program, 8 (7.8%) of 103 patients contacted had infection. Thus, the overall surgical infection rate determined in this study was over three times higher than that calculated using standard surveillance. A reliable method for identifying postdischarge wound infections is necessary to ensure accurate surgical wound infection rates.


2011 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moraima Guevara Rodrìguez ◽  
Juan Josè Romero Zúñiga

Aim: Hospital surgical wound infection (SWI) is one of the three most frequent causes of nosocomial infection worldwide, leading to high social and medical costs. This study aims to identify and quantify risk factors for SWI in a Costa Rican hospital. Methods: A cohort study of 488 elective patients operated between April and June 2006. The patients were divided in 2 groups: those in which operating room traffic was restricted, group A, and those in which it was not, group B. The statistical analysis was performed in 2 major phases: descriptive and analytical. In the first one, frequency measures (absolute and relative) were calculated; and the second one was carried out in 2 stages; both of them through unconditional logistic regression, univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: An overall incidence of 35.2 % (172/488) of SWI was found. The cumulative incidence in the unexposed was 31.8% (76/239), while in those exposed, it was 38.6% (96/249) (p=0.12). Only organ and bone/joint surgery presented a higher risk of SWI (OR 2.42; 95% CI:1.5-3.8), surgeries in unrestricted traffic rooms and diabetes had no association with the infection. Conclusion: Diabetes and depth of surgery should be taken into account in the profile of patients with increased risk of suffering SWI; furthermore, even though there was no epidemiological association between restricted operating room traffic and not restricted, and SWI, although the difference in incidence of SWI, was not statistically significant, it is advisable to restrict the transit of persons in operating rooms, according to international standards.


1983 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-166
Author(s):  
SARAH F. GRAPPEL ◽  
LILLIAN PHILLIPS ◽  
HUGH B. LEWIS ◽  
D. GWYN MORGAN ◽  
PAUL ACTOR

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