[Prevention of postoperative infection in accident surgery]

Since the spectrum of surgical procedures has become larger, high attention has to be paid to asepsis. A well defined theatre practice and introduction of ultraclean air in operation rooms are described as "non-infection" measurements. Airborne route of surgical infection has to be excluded especially in operations, where large implants are used and in emergency cases with bad soft tissue conditions. Moreover, surgical technique, choice of method, time of operation, atraumatic surgical procedure are as important as to follow the rules of biomechanics in preventing postoperative wound infections, which remain the principal threat of successful surgery. But it is not only the surgeon and his team, who are responsible for correct asepsis, also the hospital authorities are challenged--not only for forensic reasons--to cooperate in this important task.