I&D
Medical abbreviation · Surgical
| Stands for | Incision and drainage |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
I&D stands for Incision and drainage, a surgical abbreviation.
Procedure that opens an abscess or infected collection with a scalpel, drains the pus and breaks up internal pockets (loculations), often followed by packing or a drain. It is the main treatment for skin abscesses and is performed in clinics, emergency departments and operating rooms.
Example: I&D of a 4 cm buttock abscess under local anesthesia; cultures sent, loosely packed.
Usage notes
Pronounced "I and D". For uncomplicated skin abscesses, adding an antibiotic such as TMP-SMX or clindamycin after drainage modestly improved cure rates in trials published in 2016 and 2017. Many clinicians now skip packing small abscesses. Deep collections are often drained percutaneously by interventional radiology instead.
Related abbreviations
More surgical abbreviations
- Ex-fix – External fixator
- Fem-pop – Femoral-popliteal (bypass)
- FESS – Functional endoscopic sinus surgery
- FS – Frozen section
- FTSG – Full-thickness skin graft
- HIPEC – Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy
- IM – Intramedullary (nail or rod)
- IOL – Intraocular lens
- LAGB – Laparoscopic adjustable gastric band
- Lap – Laparoscopic (laparoscopy)
- Lap chole – Laparoscopic cholecystectomy
- LAR – Low anterior resection
See all 51 surgical abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.