Dr Stuart Myers

Care of Diabetic Patients

Care of Diabetic Patients   

 


GUIDELINES FOR THE CARE OF PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS

 The following guidelines are for the care of Perioperative patients with Diabetes Mellitus presenting for surgery.
 

(A) Diet controlled Diabetes Mellitus

a. Monitor (and manage if required) q2h Dextrostix
i. If  Dextrostix < 4 or > 14 mmol/L call RMO
ii. If < 4 mmol/L, treat with dextrose IV or food as appropriate
iii. If > 14 mmol/L, review BSL in one hour and if still > 14 mmol/L start subcutaneous (s/c) Insulin Sliding Scale.  (also start IV infusion of N/Saline if and only if patient is still fasting)
iv. S/c Sliding Scale Insulin regime  (for temporary use only, call Anaesthetist

Blood Glucose (mmol/L) Actrapid (Units)
< 4 No insulin
4.1 – 8 2
8.1 – 12 4
12.1 – 16 6
16.1 – 20 8
>20 10
 
(B) Patients on Oral Hypoglycaemic Medications

a. Omit all oral hypoglycaemic medications (including metformin) on the day of surgery
b. Monitor (and manage if required) q2h Dextrostix
i. If  Dextrostix < 4 or > 14 mmol/L call RMO
ii. If < 4 mmol/L, treat with dextrose IV or food as appropriate
iii. If > 14 mmol/L, review BSL in one hour and if still > 14 mmol/L start subcutaneous (s/c) Insulin Sliding Scale.  (also start IV infusion of N/Saline if and only if patient is still fasting)
iv. S/c Sliding Scale Insulin regime  (for temporary use only, call Endocrine Registrar and/ or Diabetes CNC)

Blood Glucose (mmol/L) Actrapid (Units)
< 4 No insulin
4.1 – 8 2
8.1 – 12 4
12.1 – 16 6
16.1 – 20 8
>20 10
 
(C) Patients on Insulin

a. Place patient first or early on the Operating Theatre list
b. All patients on Insulin having surgery > 1 hour duration (moderate to major surgery) and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus  (usually requiring 4 injections per day - one basal long acting insulin and three injections of short acting insulin before meals)
c. Start 1 litre 5% Dextrose at 84 – 125 ml/hour (as clinically indicated) then one half normal morning Insulin
d. Monitor (and manage if required) q2h Dextrostix
i. If  Dextrostix < 4 or > 14 mmol/L call RMO
ii. If < 4 mmol/L, treat with dextrose IV or food as appropriate
iii. If > 14 mmol/L, review BSL in one hour and if still > 14 mmol/L start subcutaneous (s/c) Insulin Sliding Scale.  (also start IV infusion of N/Saline if and only if patient is still fasting)
iv. S/c Sliding Scale Insulin regime  (for temporary use only, call Endocrine Registrar and/ or Diabetes CNC)

Blood Glucose (mmol/L) Actrapid (Units)
< 4 No insulin
4.1 – 8 2
8.1 – 12 4
12.1 – 16 6
16.1 – 20 8
>20 10
 
ALL PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS ARE TO RESUME NORMAL DIET AND USUAL DIABETES MELLITUS TREATMENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
POST-SURGERY OR PROCEDURE.

 

 

Care of Wounds closed with Subcuticular Monocryl

How do I look after my surgical wound? 

The operation report will give specific instructions on how to look after your wound. In general there are 2 types of sutures used to close your surgical wound.

1. Nylon sutures

- Small wounds eg trigger finger, Carpal tunnels should be kept dry for 2 days and then can be wet in the shower.

This is an interrupted suture that can be seen from the outside and crosses the wound edges from side to side.
It can produce a scar with a criss /cross appearance rather than just a straight line.

I use them particularly if early movement of the part is desirable. For example in the finger after a fracture.

- 50 Nylon is particularly used in fingers, on the palm and in Dupuytrens surgery.

The “50” refers to the gauge or size of the suture - Not fifty sutures!  

     

2. Monocryl sutures

- 50 Monocryl  subcuticular is a buried suture. It tends to leave a better scar which is a straight line scar.              .

- Must be kept dry and leave dressings and steristrips intact for 10 days.

-  Monocryl is a dissolving suture which can be left in-situ and will  dissolve spontaneously over weeks to months.
                       
- It is often combined with small white tapes called  steristrips which are glued to the wound at the end of the operation with Op site spray. These must not be removed until at least the post operative visit.
                              
- The ends of the Monocryl sutures are often tied over the steristrips to prevent the wound pulling apart.                      

- Even though Monocryl sutures can dissolve I often remove these sutures and leave the steristrips until they fall off.

- Removing the suture may improve the long-term appearance of the wound.
            
- The Monocryl suture can occasionally  cause an allergic skin reaction in some people.

- In longer wounds I just cut the ends of the Monocryl sutures flush with the skin after cleaning with alcohol swabs.    

- Monocryl is particularly used on the back of the hand and in the forearm.

- Must be kept dry and leave dressings and steristrips intact for 10 days.

             

         

 

 

For more information on Wound Care.

 

Dressings and plasters

- Your hand will be dressed with a non stick dressing called Mepitel and then a pad of Velband then a crepe bandage following your surgery.

- This dressing should stay intact until your follow-up appointment unless indicated in the operation report.

- You will only need dressings for the first 10 days or so until primary healing has occurred.

- Depending on the type of surgery you may well have a plaster slab bandaged to the wrist or hand over the dressing.

- Often this is for comfort only and can be removed soon after the surgery to allow early movement.

- Just unwrap the outer bandage and the plaster slab will come off. Leave the inner dressing intact.

- Occasionally, there will be a small amount of blood in this dressing which is nothing to worry about, however if you see a lot of bleeding please contact the hospital or my rooms.

- Note for fractures and tendon or ligament repairs it is vital to keep the plaster slab on until instructed to remove it. Please follow carefully  the plaster  instructions in  the operation report.

- The plaster slab is not waterproof.

- After some operations the dressing will be changed after 24 hours.

- Your second dressing is usually much less bulky than the first and is often worn under a splint.

- Do not apply Detol, Betadine  or any other ointments over the incision!



Washing & Showering:

- It is very important to keep the wound dry. If you wish to take a  brief shower, tape a bag over your bandage and hold it well above your head to prevent water dripping inside your dressing.

- Do NOT take a bath, get into a pool or hot tub, or soak your hand for 2 weeks after surgery!

- The yellow discoloration you might  find around your surgery site is a long lasting surgical prep called Betadine.

- This is used because it will kill bacteria on your skin This yellow discoloration can be sponged off the day after surgery.

- More recently I have used Alcoholic Chlorhexidine to prepare the skin. It is placed in a bag and left on the skin for 10 - 15 mins before the operation. It is highly effective at cleaning the skin BUT it can dry out the skin and you are recommended to apply Sorbolene to the skin outside the dressings to moisturise the skin after the operation.

- If it is causing your arm to itch it can be removed sooner. Be careful not to wet the dressings at this time.

 
 Suture removal

- Stitches are usually removed  ~  8 - 10 days after hand surgery.

- A scar massage program is then begun, using Sorbolene or Olive oil firmly rubbed into and around the scar for five minutes, twice a day.  

- The oil may be purchased without a prescription.  

- Continue the massage program until the scar softens.

LAST UPDATED ON  14 / 4 / 2015

Managing Axillary Blocks

Managing Axillary Blocks   

 

 
Post – op care of Axillary Blocks:

Anaesthetic has been placed around the brachial plexus under ultrasound guidance by the anaesthetist.

The Block may last for 12 – 24 hours depending on the type of anaesthetic used.

When performing circulation checks obviously the patient will not be able to complain of pain or numbness to alert you that dressings or plasters are TOO tight.

It is vital therefore to pay extra attention to excessive swelling and the colour of the fingers.

Beware pressure on the ulnar nerve at the elbow. The patient will not complain of pain.

With drip stand slings have the arm resting on the bed – not on the sling. The sling is there to stop the arm from falling over - not to elevate it.

The patient has no control over the arm and so can hit themselves in the face with the plaster if not warned.


The biggest problem with these blocks is when they wear off.

The pain can be severe because they have no blood levels of analgesics.

This often happens in the middle of the night.

The solution to this problem is:

1. Give patients oral analgesia as they are going off to sleep even if the block has not worn off.  Eg Panadeine forte or Endone or Tramal as prescribed by the anaesthetist.

2. If the block has not worn off in the morning after surgery give them more analgesia.

3. As soon as the patient notes some tingling in the fingers suggesting the block is wearing off give strong analgesia immediately.

The blocks may wear off very quickly.

For more information: Link
 

Dupuytrens Dressing Change

Dupuytrens Dressing Change   


Many patients will have had a forearm local anaesthetic block at the time of surgery and so will be comfortable.

It is important to read the Operation Report because each case may have specific issues.

When the patient arrives in the ward it is vital that the arm is elevated. The arm should be placed in a drip stand sling but the sling is used to stop the arm from flopping sideways and is not aimed at supporting the weight of the arm.

It should be resting on a pillow.

 

 

The next day the dressing should be changed. The crêpe bandage is removed and the plaster  slab will be reused.

It is important to take note of the orientation of the plaster so that when it is reapplied it is in the position.

The aim of the plaster is that it holds the fingers in extension.

The drain is not sutured in and is usually removed the morning after surgery.

Skin Grafts


Often there will have been skin grafting to the hand. The donor site is usually the inner arm.

It is important to leave the inner dressing intact. This stays in place for two weeks.

These stitches are buried and don’t need to be removed.

The Steri-Strips under the op-site dressing are holding the wound together and should not be touched for two weeks.

This wound is under some tension so do NOT remove steristrips. They can then be allowed to wash off.



If blood has soaked through the dressings onto the plaster remove the obviously soiled bits of the velband and wrap three or four further layers of velband onto the plaster.

It is really important to pay attention to the orientation of the plaster slab so that when it is re-applied it is in the right place usually on the volar aspect of the arm.



If there is a drain it is not sewn in. It should be de- vacuumed and then removed.




When changing the dressings it is vital to leave the skin graft tie over dressings in place.

It is also desirable to avoid getting the tie over dressings too wet with normal saline.

          

Clean the other areas of the wound which are on review with normal sideline and then reapply Mepitel, padding and Coban bandage.

          

    

It is very easy to apply the Coban bandage too tight.

Unwrap the Coban off the role and then De-tension it and then wrap it loosely around the hand.

   

      


The biggest problem with dressings is that they can be applied too tight.

It is vital that you can see the tips of the fingers to do proper circulation checks because the patient will not be able to feel their fingers due to the anaesthetic block.


If there has been a skin graft we often hold the hand immobilised for seven days.

If there is no skin graft then we may start moving the finger immediately.

The patient should see the hand therapist within a couple of days from the time of surgery to have a plastic splint fitted. 

If a patient complains of disproportionately severe pain is usually due to the dressings being too tight.

There is no problem in loosening these dressings if the patient feels they are too tight.

Discharge  from Hospital

The patient will see the Hand Therapist in the 1st few days post-operatively for finger exercises and the application of a light weight plastic splint. This is worn at night and the fingers are exercised during the day.

It is important to emphasize to the patients to keep the hand well elevated particularly if they have had a skin graft.

The patient should be given 2 copies of the Operation Report to take home. 1 is for their records and the other is for the Hand Therapist.

They should be provided with a sling to take home.

Pre-op Skin prep

Pre-op Skin prep   

 


1. Clean under nails and remove nail polish

2. Remove jewellery from the operative side especially rings if possible.

3. If a ring can’t be removed and the surgery is not specifically on that finger DO NOT tape the ring to the finger.



If it can’t be removed by the patient or staff it will not fall off during the operation.  I will prep around it in the operating theatre.
The tape potentially stops the skin from being adequately sterilised.



In this circumstance the patient should be informed that if there is excessive post-operative swelling then the ring may need to be removed with a ring cutter.

        

4. Shave skin only for operations on the dorsum of the hand in hairy individuals.
Many operations Do NOT need a shave   eg Carpal Tunnel, Trigger fingers

5. If in doubt notify me.

6. Wash all dirt from the hands then apply Betadine wash and wrap in a green cloth loosely.  T
his will be removed when the patient gets to theatre to mark the limb and then a plastic bag containing Betadine will be wrapped around the arm.

7. Do not prep patients with Colles  fractures  who are already in plasters. It is often too painful to remove the plaster – This will be done once they are asleep.