Nursing care of a patient after a craniofacial area microsurgical transplant in a teenage boy

Abstract

Aim. The aim of the study was to make selected nursing diagnoses for a patient after a microsurgical transplant in the facial area, with the aim of providing the patient with comprehensive care in the perioperative period. Material and methods. The study describes the case of a child after microsurgical transplantation of a flap taken from the left iliac plate to the right submandibular region. The individual case method was used. Clinical interview, observation, measurement and medical documentation data were analyzed. Results. Four selected nursing diagnoses were presented along with planned interventions: risk of complications at the site of microsurgical flap transplantation, risk of donor site infection, discomfort caused by intense oozing of secretions from the postoperative wound in the oral cavity and the boy’s depressed mood caused by low self-esteem resulting from the changed postoperative facial appearance and the failure of the first surgical procedure. Conclusions. Nursing interventions should be adapted to the patient’s dynamically changing recovery process. They should be based on systematic inspection of the recipient and donor sites for the occurrence of complications. Education of the patient and the caregiver is an important element of the therapeutic process. It was not possible to significantly improve the child’s mood.