Splinting Post-Op

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Hi everyone! I am currently working through my study guide for my second fundamentals of nursing exam this semester. Part of the information we are being tested on is an introduction to caring for a surgical pt. In my study guide it simply says to review "splinting". This was never reviewed in our lecture and when I looked it up in the index of our textbook, I could not find anything on it other than the use when there is an abdominal incision after surgery.

So, what is splinting? Why would we teach it to a pt?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Hospice + Palliative.

did you read the section you found with reference to abdominal incisions? That's just what splinting is - it's a way to minimize incisional pain (usually by holding a pillow over the incision to provide counter-pressure) while deep breathing/coughing. Craven & Hirnle's Nursing Procedures and Fundamentals Online

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Specializes in ER trauma, ICU - trauma, neuro surgical.

If it is not abd surgery, maybe they are referring to ortho surgery? There's lots of splinting with hip, elbow, arm, hand, pelvic, leg fractures. There's splinting in vascular surgery too. If someone severed their brachial, the arm would be splinted until the graft heals.

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