Use of double gloves to protect the surgeon from blood contact during aesthetic procedures

The potential for blood contact with nonintact skin puts operating room personnel at an increased risk of exposure to hepatitis or HIV virus. Frank needle-stick injury to the surgeon has been shown to occur once every 20-40 operations. It has been shown that blood contact exposure during aesthetic s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Aesthetic plastic surgery 1995-05, Vol.19 (3), p.265-267
Main Authors: GRECO, R. J, GARZA, J. R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
AIDS/HIV
Biological and medical sciences
Blood-Borne Pathogens
Gloves, Surgical
Hepatitis B - prevention & control
HIV Infections - prevention & control
Humans
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional - prevention & control
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Needlestick Injuries - prevention & control
Risk Factors
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Surgery, Plastic
Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments
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Summary:The potential for blood contact with nonintact skin puts operating room personnel at an increased risk of exposure to hepatitis or HIV virus. Frank needle-stick injury to the surgeon has been shown to occur once every 20-40 operations. It has been shown that blood contact exposure during aesthetic surgery occurs in 32% of the operations in which a single pair of surgical gloves is used (surgeon 39.7%, assistant 23%). The reduction of blood contact exposure during aesthetic surgical procedures by using two pairs of gloves was tested and demonstrated. Contact rates decreased by 70%. Outer-glove perforations occurred in 25.6% of the cases, while inner-glove perforations occurred in only 10% of the cases (surgeon 8.7%, assistant 3.5%). All of the inner-glove perforations occurred during procedures that lasted longer than two hours, and in no case was there an inner-glove defect without a corresponding outer-glove perforation. The nondominant index finger (33%) was the most common location. Double gloving during aesthetic procedures reduced the operating room personnel's risk of blood contact exposure by 70% when compared with single-glove use.
ISSN:0364-216X
1432-5241
DOI:10.1007/BF00451102