After your surgery, the incision has to stay closed while the tissue heals. If the wound opens again, you could face infection, leading to more treatment or a longer recovery. You might want to know what caused the wound to open and whether your surgeon made an error.
Poor wound closure may support a malpractice claim if your surgeon failed to use the care expected of a reasonably skilled surgeon. However, an open wound does not prove negligence on its own. You also have to show that a closure error caused you additional harm.
When a wound closure fails
Your surgeon uses stitches or staples to hold the edges of your incision together while the tissue heals. The closure has to keep enough support on the wound during that process.
If the stitches or staples fail to hold the tissue as intended, the edges can separate. Doctors call this wound dehiscence. A deep opening often requires added wound care and may lead to another procedure. How your surgeon closed the incision can therefore become important when it is time to review what caused the injury.
What else can cause a wound to reopen
Poor closure is not the only reason your incision might reopen. An infection can weaken the tissue as it heals. Too much strain on the wound or a health problem that slows healing can also cause the incision to separate.
Your medical records can help explain why the wound opened. The operative report usually describes how your surgeon closed the incision. Follow-up notes show when the opening began and how the wound looked at later visits. Your treatment records may also point to an infection, slow healing or another cause.
Keeping useful evidence
You may want to keep photos that show changes in the wound along with copies of your treatment records. It might also help to note when you first saw the opening and what care followed. Keeping this information together can make it easier to review a possible surgical negligence claim and prepare for the legal process.