Surgical Debridement and Infection Treatment Consent

An area of infection is opened so that pus can drain, and infected or dead tissue, granulation tissue, graft material, or bone is removed. The site is irrigated and may be left open to drain, packed, or closed with stitches. A drain may be placed. Samples may be sent for laboratory testing, and antibiotics are often prescribed.

• The infection may not resolve with one procedure. Repeat debridement, further surgery, referral, or hospital admission may be needed.
• Removal of graft material, a membrane, or an implant may prove necessary once the site is opened, and you may lose treatment already paid for.
• Bone may need to be removed, leaving a defect that requires later grafting.
• Pain, swelling, bleeding, bruising, restricted mouth opening, and difficulty eating.
• Spread of infection — including, rarely, to the eye, neck, or bloodstream, which is a medical emergency requiring hospital care.
• Numbness or altered feeling of the lip, chin, tongue, or cheek — usually temporary, occasionally permanent where infection has already involved a nerve.
• Antibiotic side effects including allergy, stomach upset, diarrhea, and antibiotic-associated colitis.
• Scarring, delayed healing, or an opening that persists and drains.

• Antibiotics alone without surgical drainage, referral to a specialist or hospital, removal of the affected tooth or implant instead, or no treatment.

• Untreated infection in the mouth or jaw can spread into the tissues of the face, neck, and airway. This can become life-threatening. Antibiotics alone frequently cannot clear an infection that has formed a collection of pus without it being drained.