UNLABELLED: The avoiding of water-contact to the freshly closed operation-wound is an unwritten law in surgery. In general, taking a bath or shower is not allowed before wound stitch removal under the idea that early water-contact may lead to a higher wound-infection rate. In a prospective trial 170 patients, operated in our short-stay surgery-unit, were allowed to take a shower 24 hours after surgery. Full water contact of the fresh uncovered wound was accepted. The wound-infection rate in this group was compared with the infection-rate of an historical group from our department (n = 956). RESULTS: In the water-contact group no case of wound-infection was observed while we were observing a wound-infection-rate of 0.6% in the other group. The difference between the two groups wasn't statistically significant (p = 0.125). CONCLUSION: Water-contact of the fresh operation wound 24 hours after surgery did not increase the post-operative wound infection risk in this study.
UNLABELLED: The avoiding of water-contact to the freshly closed operation-wound is an unwritten law in surgery. In general, taking a bath or shower is not allowed before wound stitch removal under the idea that early water-contact may lead to a higher wound-infection rate. In a prospective trial 170 patients, operated in our short-stay surgery-unit, were allowed to take a shower 24 hours after surgery. Full water contact of the fresh uncovered wound was accepted. The wound-infection rate in this group was compared with the infection-rate of an historical group from our department (n = 956). RESULTS: In the water-contact group no case of wound-infection was observed while we were observing a wound-infection-rate of 0.6% in the other group. The difference between the two groups wasn't statistically significant (p = 0.125). CONCLUSION:Water-contact of the fresh operation wound 24 hours after surgery did not increase the post-operative wound infection risk in this study.