My wife had a laminectomy to take pressure off a herniated disc. Afterwards she got a terrible infection along the incision. We suspect the bug came from the hospital. Could anything have been done to keep this from happening?

Surgical site infections occur fairly often after spinal operations. Signs of infection often develop in the early days after surgery. Infections that occur in the hospital are called nosocomial. They are also known as hospital-acquired infections.

Proper handwashing goes a long way to prevent infections. But patients often bring their own risk factors when they come. Obesity, diabetes, or elevated blood sugars (pre-diabetes) are major risk factors for infection after spinal surgery.

Patients are usually given a prophylactic (preventive) antibiotic to help prevent infections. The medication is best given within an hour of the surgeon making the first incision. Results are less than optimal when the antibiotic is given too soon or too late.

Patients blood glucose (sugar) levels should be monitored before and after surgery. Keeping blood glucose levels below 125 mg/dL is the goal. This is especially true for any one with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Patients with complex surgeries may require the skills of more than one surgeon. The more people in contact with the patient and the longer the operation, the greater the risk of infection. Some of these factors just can’t be prevented.