In their constant battle to prevent bacterial infections in hospitals, scientists have proposed a new solution: surgeons must operate naked! It's surprising but it's serious!
Operating NAKED?
Doctors have discovered that naked surgeons shed much less bacteria than those who wear gowns. They say that's because surgical gowns rub against the skin, causing bacteria to spread through the air in the operating room.
In another challenge to conventional practice, scientists said there was little difference between surgeons operating in their normal clothes rather than dressed in surgical gowns.
The Washington University Journal, based on existing research, also found that male surgeons excreted twice as many bacteria as women, and that women wearing tights in the operating room posed a higher risk. than those with bare legs.
The lead author of the study, Dr. Patchen Dellinger, said that in terms of excretion of bacteria in the air, naked people release less bacteria than people in clothing. Bacteria spread through the air and through small flakes of skin called scales, and when you wear clothes, they rub against the dander and send them into the air. When you are naked this does not happen.
Dr. Dellinger, 73, also added that when he practiced in the 1970s, nurses had to wear skirts and tights, but there is very good evidence that bare-leg nurses produce far fewer bacteria than nurses in tights. A new directive was issued that a special cap should be worn to cover all the hair, but for Dr. Dellinger, there is no data that shows a difference from not wearing it.
Dr. Dellinger also thinks that bare surgery will probably not happen and does not think it will be studied. Normal clothes worn in the city are tighter and have smaller openings on pants and shirts than on surgical gowns.
Dr. Dellinger said he is not yet ready to change his work clothes at the moment. He admitted that there was no evidence of Level 1 where a high quality procedure performed in a rigorous and controlled manner on the pros and cons of wearing gowns by surgeons.
He says there are a lot of things that doctors do with, and for, patients that make sense, and seem to have good results.
Opposite opinion
Asked about this finding, Dr. Vijay Dikshit, a top-notch cardio-thoracic surgeon, said gowns and gloves are meant to protect surgeons. Disposable gloves are used for each surgery and the gowns used are washed and sterilized after surgery. For Dr. Vijay, the study is absurd because he has done so many hours of surgery and has never heard of hospital infections because of it.
For his part, Indian neurosurgeon Dr Alok Ranjan described the study as very amusing. He says the world is full of bacteria. Especially in a hospital with many patients and in a tropical climate like in India, you can not eliminate all the bacteria. The gowns that surgeons wear are used exclusively in the operating room. The assertion of the study that there is no difference between normal clothes and blouses, according to him, is not right. In addition, Dr. Ranjan says that gowns protect against injuries caused by the sharp instruments they use for surgeries.
Opinions remain divided between specialists as to whether to operate with gowns or not. In the meantime, more and more research is needed to end the controversy.
