The nurse prepares to change the patient's dressing over a surgical incision without drainage but palpates a ridge along the suture line. Which dressing should the nurse apply to this wound?

Question

a. Foam pad
b. Wet-to-dry
c. Transparent film
d. Dry sterile gauze

Answer 1

D
The nurse uses a dry sterile gauze dressing over the surgical incision because a nondraining inci-sion with a healing ridge is consistent with clinical indicators of a properly healing surgical inci-sion. The nurse chooses this dressing because the incision needs protection. The surgical incision has no drainage; thus a foam pad dressing is contraindicated because it is intended for use with partial- to full-thickness wounds with moderate-to-heavy drainage. A wet-to-dry dressing is con-traindicated for use with a nondraining surgical incision but is indicated for mechanical débridement of wounds. A transparent film dressing is a reasonable choice to protect the wound because the wound may be observed through it; however, the nurse avoids choosing this dressing to cover a surgical incision because removing the dressing pulls on the fragile borders of the in-cision.