OBJECTIVE:
The intact gloves are excellent barriers between the hands of the surgeon and the patient. Unfortunately, glove perforation is a very common problem during surgery, especially in some disciplines. Aim of this study was, to evaluate invisible glove perforation ratio during colorectal surgery.
MATERIALS and METHODS:
In our clinic, one thousand gloves were tested for perforation in 89 randomly selected operations, from September 01 2006 to 31 December 2006.
RESULTS:
The overall perforation rate was 17.9%. The prevalence of glove perforation was 27.2% and 15.3% in more than one hour and less, respectively, with significant difference. The prevalence of glove perforation was 27.09% and 17.06% in pelvic surgery or non-pelvic surgery, respectively, with significant difference. The glove perforation rate for the operator, the first and the second assistant and nurse were 23.5, 18.8, 4.3 and 8.4% for all of the operations, respectively.
CONCLUSION:
Changing gloves at regular intervals (especially non-dominant hand, less than one hour) is an effective way to decrease the incidence of possible glove perforation during colorectal surgery.
Keywords: Puncture, surgical gloves, pelvic surgery