Is umbilical flora responsible for wound infection after laparoscopic surgery?

To our knowledge, the association of umbilical flora and infections has not been studied yet. The aim of this study was to identify the causative agents for trocar site infections and to highlight whether there is association between umbilical flora and trocar site infections. One hundred consecutive patients who had undergone laparoscopic surgery were studied. Microbiological samples were taken from the umbilicus before (group 1) and after (group 2) antisepsis with povidone-iodine. Microbiological assessment was done for wounds suspected to be infected, and the wounds with positive cultures were classified as group 3. The incidence of wound infection was 8%. One hundred percent of the infections were associated with the extraction trocar. Eighty-nine percent of all of the infections occurred after laparoscopic cholecystectomy, whereas 11% occurred after laparoscopic appendectomy. The micro-organisms in group 3 did not belong to the skin flora, unlike the micro-organisms in groups 1 and 2, but hospital-acquired pathogens were responsible for the infections. The umbilical flora and the bile are not the source of the surgical site infections after laparoscopic surgery in our study despite the considerations in the literature.