FOR patients to recover safely from breast cancer surgery, surgical site infections (SSIs) must be minimised. Preoperative measures are the first step in any effective strategy. Infection risks are greatly decre-ased by educating patients about good hygiene practices and managing comorbid conditions, like diabetes, to the best of their ability.

It is also advantageous to implement decolonisation regimens for patients who have staphylococcus aureus colonisation. In order to reduce skin flora, patients can be advised to take chlorhexidine gluconate baths and should get prophylactic anti-biotics within an hour of operation.

Strict adherence to aseptic protocols and minimal handling of the tissue are crucial in the operating room. To create a sterile field, surgical draping is required. Sufficient hanging not only shields the surgical site from outside pollutants, but also aids in keeping any possible infection contained inside the draped region.

Teaching patients how to take care of their wounds and to spot infection sympt-oms is essential after surgery. Surgeons should aim for efficient workflow to mini-mise the duration of the procedure because longer surgeries have been associated with higher SSI rates.

Healthcare professionals can reduce the incidence of SSIs during all breast cancer procedures by scrupulously adhering to these practices, which will ultimately improve patient outcomes and hasten their recovery time.

Muhammad K. Azam & Kamran Ashraf
Lahore

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2024