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Surgical site infections (SSIs) can occur when microorganisms naturally found on the skin of a patient enter the body when the skin's protective barrier is compromised during the surgical procedure. The skin is a dynamic home to a large number of bacteria, with up to 3 million microorganisms on each square centimeter of skin. Most commonly, an SSI occurs from organisms that are consistently present on a patient's skin, compared with transient organisms that are more easily removed. Although it's impossible to remove all microorganisms from the skin, a proper skin prep aids in preventing SSIs by removing debris from the skin, bringing the transient and resident flora to an irreducible minimum, and hindering the growth of microbes during the surgical procedure. Although it might sound easy, there are a few important steps in ensuring that the patient receives the optimum skin prep.
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