Fighting postsurgical infection after myelomeningocele repair with medical honey (Medihoney): a case report

Surgical site infection (SSI) prolongs the treatment period, delays wound healing, increases antibiotic consumption, and leads to patient death in complicated cases. This case was a 10-day female infant born at 37-week- and 6-day of gestational age with a birth weight of 3700 g and Apgar 5/8 by emergency cesarean section due to spina bifida cystica with myelomeningocele (MMC). She was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) because of respiratory distress and hypotonic lower extremities on June 2, 2022. A cardiovascular and neurosurgery consult was okay for reconstructive surgery, and she had MMC repair surgery by a plastic surgeon on June 5, 2022. The surgical site was infected, and SSI had no improvement, despite regularly receiving wet and Vaseline gauze dressing and intravenous antibiotic therapy. We started the treatment using Medihoney™, honey antibacterial wound dressing, on SSI once a day for 2 weeks, then once every other day for the next 6 weeks. Her SSI was cured entirely after 2 months, and she was discharged from our wound treatment team in satisfactory general condition. Clinicians and wound care management teams could use honey antibacterial wound gel to treat SSI, particularly in newborns with weakened immune systems after spinal birth defects repair.