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Surgical Site Infection

​What is a Surgical Site Infection (SSI)?

A surgical site infection (SSI) occurs after a surgical procedure as a result of bacteria gaining entry to the body during the surgery. SSI prevention includes many things, such ​as proper use of preventative antibiotics, proper disinfection of the skin and proper management of the surgical wound.

At UHN, we employ a surgical checklist to ensure that antibiotics are administered at the appropriate time for all of our surgeries, in all of our operating rooms. Toronto General Hospital was one of 8 hospitals that participated in a worldwide study that showed that the use of the surgical checklist reduced complications, like SSI, by one-third.

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