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.
