Question
A 9-month-old baby, experiencing symptoms of runny nose, slight cough, and decreased appetite after surgery, has taken baby syrup and pediatric cough granules. Three days later, the symptoms worsened, with coughing and phlegm at night, and fever developed after taking cefradine at night.
Answer
(1) The patient should adopt a lateral sleeping position. For patients under regional anesthesia, secretions in the mouth should be allowed to flow out through the corners of the mouth, avoiding swallowing to observe for any bleeding. Before full anesthesia patients regain consciousness, attention should be paid to any swallowing movements, and if present, check for bleeding. (2) Three hours after surgery, patients can start with liquid diets. Six hours after surgery, they can use salt water to gargle. If there is pain at the incision site, a neck cold compress can be applied. (3) On the second day after surgery, a layer of white film may appear on the wound surface, which is a normal phenomenon. The white film typically starts to peel off between 5 to 7 days after surgery, with granulation tissue forming at the wound site and the superficial epithelium beginning to grow. If the white film appears grayish, be cautious of possible infection. Use antibiotics and gargle with a 0.5~1% hydrogen peroxide solution.
Surgical Complications and Their Management
(1) Bleeding: Bleeding within 24 hours after surgery is primary bleeding and is relatively common, often occurring within 6 hours post-surgery. Possible causes include insufficiently delicate surgical technique, incomplete hemostasis, vascular dilation after the vasoconstrictive effect of adrenaline in anesthetics wears off, or factors such as a patient’s lack of vitamin C, reduced thromboplastin content, or sudden changes in weather.
- If there is pus in the tonsillar crypts…