Background: Little is known regarding the effects of early showers after cardiac surgery. We evaluated the influence of early showers on postoperative wound complications following cardiac surgery.
Methods: This was a prospective observational study of 100 cardiac surgery patients (mean age, 63.0±13.5 years) who underwent early postoperative showers from September 2020 to March 2021 at our institution. Postoperative showers were initiated after the drain was removed. Postoperative wound complications were examined and patient satisfaction was evaluated using questionnaires.
Results: Surgery was performed through sternotomy in 48 patients (48.0%) and through minimally invasive approaches (right or left mini-thoracotomy) in 52 patients (52.0%). The mean time from surgery to shower was 6.0±1.4 days. No wound dehiscence, superficial wound infection, or deep wound infection was observed. Questionnaires showed that more than 50% of patients thought they were not allowed to shower until more than 2 weeks after the operation. Patient satisfaction score was 7.4±2.3 out of 10 for early showers after cardiac surgery.
Conclusions: Our study suggests that postoperative early showers after cardiac surgery are not associated with an increased risk of wound complications. Patient satisfaction was also high. Early postoperative showering can be considered after cardiac surgery.
Keywords: Postoperative shower; surgical wound dehiscence; surgical wound infection; wound infection.