why do surgeons bother scrubbing all the way up to their elbows, but then it is covered by sleeves and gloves?
In: Biology
Best practice, and a bit of the old belt-and-suspenders approach – scrubbing and donning gown and gloves each help reduce contamination in the operating room, but both together help reduce the risk greatly. There is no perfect containment system – gloves and sleeves are very good at reducing transmission of pathogens, but are not perfect. Nothing is. The “cost” of thoroughly scrubbing up is an extra minute or two, which is very low, especially when compared to the hours and hours a typical surgical procedure can take. The benefit if it prevents even one infection over a surgeon’s entire career far, far outweighs the cost of scrubbing.
Latest Answers