As many as 780,000 surgery-related infections occur each year. And you may be able to prevent many of them. Although much of the research on reducing surgical site infections (SSI) has been done in inpatient settings, the risk to patients is similar and lessons learned elsewhere can be applied in the outpatient setting with similar success. n D, Pearce P, McKenzie M, et al. Surgical wound infections occurring in day surgery patients. Am J Infect Control 1990; 18:277-82.