Essentials of surgical wounds

Essentials of surgical wounds
This session supports health and care staff in developing the knowledge and skills required to recognise what a surgical wound is and explain the differences in classification. This session will enable learners to identify the benefits and potential complications of various closure methods, and will also explore the role of wound drains. 

Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes and content of the session have been developed for Level 4 study.

By the end of the session, you should be able to:

• understand what a surgical wound is
• explain the differences in classification of surgical wounds
• recognise the difference between primary, secondary and tertiary closure
• identify the benefits and potential complications of various closure methods
• recognise the role of wound drains
• recognise the complications of drains and when to escalate