Abstract
BACKGROUND: Abdominal wound dehiscence (AWD) is a costly postoperative complication; its management is particularly challenging for WOC nurses when it occurs secondary to an ostomy closure.
CASE: We present a case of AWD secondary to ileostomy closure in Baby Q, a 9-month 19-day-old female infant. A silver wound contact dressing was used on her dehisced wound followed by negative pressure wound therapy and adhesive tape to pull the wound edge together and promote granulation. We used a combination of enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition, total parenteral nutrition, and total enteral nutrition adjusting the feeding plan stepwise according to her nutritional status.
CONCLUSIONS: Malnutrition and severe peristomal skin complications may contribute to the risk of AWD in infants undergoing reversal of a temporary ostomy. Assessing and treating nutritional status and peristomal skin is imperative before performing ostomy closure.