Three days ago, a patient had cardiac surgery to bypass three occlusions of his coronary arteries. Veins for the bypass were harvested from his right leg. He informs the nurse that his leg is warm and tender in his right calf

Question

The nurse notes a 3-cm periwound erythema and swelling at the distal end of the incision. Staples are intact along the incision, and there is no drainage. Vital signs are stable. The nurse would suspect that the patient has what kind of complication?
a. Deep vein thrombosis
b. Dehiscence of the wound
c. Internal bleeding
d. Infection at the incisional site

Answer 1

A
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a clot in the veins that are deep under the muscles of the leg. DVT can occur after surgery, after lengthy bedrest, or after trauma. Symptoms include pain, warmth, redness, and swelling of the leg. Dorsiflexion of the foot (pulling toes forward) and Pratt's sign (squeezing calf to trigger pain) have not been found to be reliable in diagnosing DVT. Dehiscence is the rupture of a suture line, whereas evisceration is the protrusion of internal organs through the rupture. Internal bleeding is a wound-healing complication associated with hematoma formation, pain, hypotension, and tachycardia. Infection is a complication of wound healing that causes warmth, pain, inflammation of the affected area, and changes in vital signs (i.e., elevated pulse and temperature).