Patient education
Wound Dehiscence: Recognising and Managing Problems
Written for someone looking at a surgical incision and trying to tell whether it is healing or has parted. Ordinary healing read day by day, the difference between skin that has separated and a separation that reaches deeper, what each discharge colour and amount means, the red flags that need care the same day, what to do in the first hour, what not to do, why wounds open, how the wound is assessed, and when a revision is planned afterwards.
All guides
10 guides
- Is This Normal Healing, or Has the Wound Opened?Normal or not
- What Normal Wound Healing Looks Like, Day by DayBaseline
- Superficial or Full-Thickness Separation: Why the Depth Changes EverythingDepth
- Reading Wound Discharge: What Each Colour and Amount MeansDischarge
- Red Flags After Surgery: When to Seek Care the Same DayRed flags
- The First Hour After a Wound Opens: What to Do Before You Are SeenFirst response
- What Not to Do With an Open WoundWhat not to do
- Why Wounds Open: Risk Factors You Can and Cannot ChangeRisk factors
- How a Surgeon Assesses an Open Wound, and What the Work-Up IncludesAssessment
- After the Wound Closes: Revision Timing, Scar Care and What to ExpectRevision and scar
If the wound looks wrong, make the call
Contact the surgical team. Say what operation you had and when, describe what the incision looks like now and which way it is changing, and we will say whether it is a telephone call, a same-day assessment, or emergency care now.