In the postoperative phase of the surgery, the patient can develop some problems and complications. The main one is fever, and as surgeons, we must identify its source from a long list of possibilities. First, it is important to rule out the emergency setting; if the source of the fever is still unknown, that is when the “5 Ws” apply: wind, water, wound, walking and wonder drug.
Each of the “Ws” is discussed, talking about the specific diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Special attention is given to “wounds”, as this is the reason for Surgical Site Infections.
For wounds, the SENIX index risk is used to assess the patient’s chance of developing an SSI depending on their previous conditions. However, as nothing can be done about these risk factors, other prevention, intraoperative, and postoperative factors to treat SSI are discussed. A diagram is given showing the steps to decrease the incidence of SSI, and a paper on the use of antibiotics in the postoperative period is discussed.
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