Some redness, swelling, soreness, and even a small amount of drainage can occur as a surgical incision heals. That can make it difficult to know when a change is part of normal recovery and when it could be a sign of infection.
The most useful thing to watch is often the pattern of your symptoms. An incision that is gradually becoming less red, less swollen, and less painful is different from one that is becoming increasingly red, warm, painful, swollen, or draining.
If you’re concerned about how your incision looks or feels, contact your surgical team. They can interpret your symptoms in the context of your procedure, incision, and stage of recovery.
A surgical-site infection can affect the incision or, in some cases, deeper tissues.
Signs that may warrant contacting your surgical team include:
Not every one of these symptoms means you have an infection. The important question is whether what you're experiencing is expected for your particular recovery.
This is where recovery can get confusing.
A healing incision may naturally be somewhat:
Those findings can overlap with signs associated with infection.
Instead of asking whether any redness or swelling is present, pay attention to what it is doing over time.
For example:
More reassuring: redness and swelling are stable or gradually decreasing, pain is becoming more manageable, and the incision generally looks like it is progressing.
More concerning: redness is spreading, the area is becoming hotter or more swollen, pain is increasing, drainage is changing, or you begin feeling sick.
For a broader look at what recovery can look like when things are progressing, see Good Signs of Healing After Surgery.
Some redness around a healing incision can occur, especially early in recovery.
There isn't a universal amount of redness that is considered normal after every operation. The appearance of an incision varies with the procedure, location, closure method, skin, and stage of healing.
What matters is the trend.
Redness that is expanding, becoming more intense, or appearing alongside increasing warmth, swelling, pain, drainage, or fever deserves more attention than mild redness that is gradually improving.
If you aren't sure whether the redness you're seeing is expected, contact your surgical team rather than trying to diagnose the incision from appearance alone.
Some surgical wounds may have a small amount of drainage during healing, depending on the procedure and incision.
Drainage that is new, increasing, thick, cloudy, pus-like, foul-smelling, or otherwise different from what your surgical team told you to expect may need evaluation.
If drainage soaks through a dressing, suddenly increases, or is accompanied by worsening redness, swelling, pain, fever, or the incision opening, contact your surgical team.
Follow your discharge instructions for dressing and wound care rather than squeezing, probing, or trying to clean inside the incision yourself.
Pain is expected after many surgeries, so pain alone doesn't tell you whether an infection is present.
Again, the direction of recovery can be useful.
Pain that gradually becomes more manageable as you heal is different from pain around the incision that becomes increasingly severe, especially if it occurs with redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, fever, or other new symptoms.
Recovery isn't perfectly linear, and having a more uncomfortable day doesn't automatically mean something is wrong. But a significant or persistent change from your previous recovery pattern is worth paying attention to.
For more context, see Pain After Surgery: What's Normal and What's Not.
A fever after surgery can have different causes, and whether it is concerning depends on factors such as your temperature, timing, procedure, symptoms, and the instructions you've received.
Because recommendations can differ, use the temperature threshold and contact instructions provided by your surgical team.
If you develop a fever along with worsening incision redness, warmth, swelling, drainage, increasing pain, chills, or feeling increasingly unwell, contact your surgical team.
If you weren't given a temperature threshold or aren't sure what you're supposed to report, call and ask rather than guessing.
Yes.
A surgical-site infection may not be apparent before you leave the hospital or surgery center. That's one reason your discharge instructions include information about incision care and symptoms to watch for at home.
As you recover, notice whether the incision and your overall symptoms are generally moving in the expected direction.
You don't need to inspect the wound constantly. But becoming familiar with how it normally looks can make a meaningful change easier to notice.
Contact your surgical team.
When you call, it can help to tell them:
Your surgical team may give you instructions, ask you to send a photo through an approved system, arrange an evaluation, or recommend another level of care depending on your symptoms.
Don't start leftover antibiotics or put medications, creams, ointments, or other products on the incision unless your healthcare team has told you to do so.
Some symptoms shouldn't wait for a routine follow-up.
Follow the emergency instructions provided by your surgical team. Seek prompt medical attention for severe or rapidly worsening symptoms, such as significant difficulty breathing, chest pain, fainting, severe confusion, uncontrolled bleeding, or another symptom that feels like an emergency.
For incision concerns specifically, rapidly spreading redness, severe or rapidly increasing pain or swelling, significant wound opening, or feeling seriously ill should prompt urgent medical guidance.
If you're unsure how urgently you need to be evaluated, contact your surgical team or an appropriate urgent medical service rather than waiting for an article to determine that for you.
You don't need to obsess over your incision, but noticing changes can help.
Follow your surgical team's instructions about dressings, showering, and wound care. If you're allowed to see the incision, you can pay attention to whether redness, swelling, drainage, and discomfort are generally improving or worsening.
If you've been cleared to shower but aren't sure how to handle your incision or dressing, see When Can I Shower After Surgery?
Most importantly, compare your recovery with the expectations your surgical team gave you — not with someone else's incision or recovery online.
Not sure what comes next?
Recovery doesn't always happen in a straight line. Download the free SurgiNav Surgery Recovery Roadmap to understand the stages of healing and know what to expect after surgery.
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Some redness, swelling, tenderness, and other incision changes can be part of normal healing after surgery. The presence of one symptom doesn't automatically mean you have an infection.
Pay particular attention to the pattern: redness that is spreading, increasing warmth or swelling, worsening pain, concerning drainage, fever, or feeling increasingly unwell can be reasons to contact your surgical team.
If something about your incision seems different or your recovery appears to be moving in the wrong direction, you don't have to determine on your own whether it's an infection. Contact your surgical team and describe what has changed.
Recovery doesn't always happen in a straight line. The free SurgiNav Surgery Recovery Roadmap walks you through the stages of healing so you know what to expect and when to reach out to your care team.
Download the Free Surgery Recovery RoadmapThis article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always follow the instructions provided by your healthcare team.
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Educational information only. Always follow your surgeon's instructions.