Value of the data •Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) solutions have bactericidal activity and have been used as an antiseptic hand wash and irrigation in surgical wounds to decrease infections. The data in this article is important to future researchers and the scientific community to determine if a clinical benefit or harm exists. •This provides pilot data to determine baseline healing rates and treatment failure rates to power a large study. The results of this data can be used as benchmarking data for future collaborative research and to estimate sample size analyses for larger studies. •This data set contains information on common adverse events. The results of this data are useful to the scientific community in order to anticipate potential risks that can occur and should be included in consent documents and protocols for future studies.