Hand surgery puts forth some common complications like stiffness in the digits and slight inflammation in some patients. However, the complications can take a more serious form if the patient has naturally dry skin or is suffering from a medical condition inducing excessive dryness of skin, like diabetes mellitus.
Hand Surgery and Dry Skin Complications
Bacterial growth is more likely to happen on an operated hand if the surface is uneven and prone to developing an external layer of skin debris. Surface unevenness and crusting of skin is commonly found in people with dry skin. During the post-operative stage, occlusive bandaging is often needed. This is a tighter, non-aerated form of bandaging. It can cause impaction of bacteria within the layers of skin debris. This is how maceration dermatitis occurs. Maceration dermatitis is a serious case of skin inflammation that needs to be treated with antibiotics.
In the most extreme cases, the unchecked infection can progress into cellulitis. Dry skin is more prone to itching which is often caused by topical creams used during the recovery period. Dry skin of the hand is more susceptible to allergic, contact dermatitis that often occurs due to the wide range surgical dressings used during the post-operative care. The itching can quickly turn into blistering if the skin is very dry and allows the inflammation to surge deeper.
