Surgical Site Infection Rate from Office-Based Foot and Ankle Surgeries: A Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to present data about the incidence of postoperative infections after procedures performed in a podiatric medicine private practice office setting. The COVID-19 pandemic placed a burden on the health-care system. Performing procedures in a clinic or office setting played a role in providing a continued high level of patient care for foot and ankle surgeons. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of 205 procedures in 121 patients who had undergone elective podiatric medical/orthopedic procedures performed in an office setting from February 1, 2018, through July 31, 2021. No patients were given preoperative antibiotics. The following data were extracted: patient age, sex, history of diabetes mellitus, peripheral neuropathy, development of postoperative infection, severity of infection, follow-up time in weeks, and antibiotic use prophylactically and if used postoperatively. RESULTS: The overall infection rate for this study was 1.95%, all of which were superficial infections. The most common procedure performed was a flexor tenotomy, followed by hardware removal. Removing flexor tenotomy procedures, the incidence of postoperative infection was 3.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Performing procedures in an office clinical setting is an effective and safe means to treat patients with similar if not lower infection rates compared with a hospital or surgery center in modern literature.