A surgical site infection (SSI) is an infection in the part of the body where a surgery took place. SSIs can generally be treated with antibiotics but may require additional medical care. SSIs are largely preventable, and there are steps that can be taken before, during and after surgery to reduce their risk.

Johns Hopkins Medicine tracks how many surgical site infections occur after surgeries that it performs on children and how its infection performance compares to other hospitals that perform similar surgeries.