The drug atlas
Surgery & Perioperative/Emergency / general
Incision & drainage of abscess
also: I&D · abscess drainage · source control
Overview
Draining a collection of pus — the principle that "antibiotics alone do not treat a walled-off abscess".
Mechanism
Incision releases pus and relieves the collection that antibiotics cannot penetrate — the core surgical principle of source control.
Indications
- Cutaneous/soft-tissue abscess
- Any drainable collection (source control in sepsis)
Adverse effects
Recurrence / incomplete drainagecommon
Scarring; bleedingcommon
Cautions & contraindications
Treating a fluctuant abscess with antibiotics aloneall
Will not resolve — needs drainage.
Choosing it
Fluctuant, tender, erythematous swelling with pus; not improving on antibiotics alone.
Source: NICE CKS — Abscess