Drainage of Infections

What is Drainage of Infections?

Infections of the hand and wrist can involve any area affecting the skin and underlying tissues including bone. It may involve an area of injury or a surgical wound. Localized infections of the hand and wrist may require drainage of fluid or pus and surgical removal of infected tissues in order to heal properly. Pus is the thick fluid that may be present at a site of bacterial infection.

IndicationsforDrainage of infections

Typical hand infections that may require drainage include:

• Paronychia (nail fold infection)
• Felon (fingertip pulp infection)
• Hand abscess or boil
• Flexor tendon sheath infection
• Infected wound injury
• Pus formation in a surgical site

Procedure of Drainage of Infections

• Your doctor will provide you with antibiotics to help treat the infection and prevent its spread to other areas.
• After cleaning and disinfecting the skin over the infected area, a local anesthetic agent such as lidocaine will be administered to make the area numb.
• Your doctor will then make an incision over the numbed area.
• The fluid or pus will be drained out from the tissues.
• Your doctor will then use sterile saline solution to help clean out the tissue pocket and a dressing is placed over the wound that can absorb any new pus formed.
• In cases of large and deep abscesses, a wick is placed within the wound or tissue pocket to help with drainage as the tissue heals on the inside.
• A sample of drained fluid or pus will then be examined under a microscope to identify the infection-causing bacteria.
• The process of incision and drainage will take less than an hour.

Post-Operative Care for Drainage of Infections

After the procedure, you can usually return home. Your doctor will give you instructions on how to dress your wounds daily. You should keep your wounds clean and dry and change the bandages as instructed. Healing will depend on the site and the severity of the infection. Applying warm compresses will help with faster healing.