The life-givers or the surgeons are those professionals in the medical fraternity who perform surgery. Surgery involves dissecting a patient’s body for repairing or removing the diseased or impaired organ. For a surgeon, prevention from falling prey to any infection is of vital importance. There is a high risk of contagiousness in the hospital premises. For that matter, hospital authorities and medical professionals adopt incessant stringent measures to assure sanitation and sterilization.
Following are few preventive measures for surgeons for escaping or minimizing the risk of infections prior to surgery, during the course of surgery, and post surgery.
• Prior to the arrival at hospital premises, one should have had full-fledged breakfast or meals. This is because empty stomach lowers the immunity and renders one vulnerable to infection.
• Operation theaters should be equipped with separating panels and high-tech air filtration system to eliminate pathogens from the air and as well as in controlling the air flow.
• Surgeons should attire in specially-designed hooded protective aprons.
• Wearing other sterile surgical accessories such as- face mask, head mask, latex gloves, shoe cover, isolation gown or coverall suit.
• Involving robust sterilization procedures in the operation room before and after the surgery to obliterate proliferation of pathogens.
There is no room for doubt, for that every sterilization cycle should be monitored using chemical or biological indicator test.
• Adopting surgical hand antisepsis procedure by using either an anti-microbial soap or alcohol-based hand rub before donning as well as after doffing sterile gloves.
• Scrubbing hands and forearms for an adequate length of time as prescribed by the manufacturer, and drying the skin surface completely before wearing gloves.
• Avoiding coming in bare contact with the blood as well as other body fluids and secretions. Examples of body fluids include cerebrospinal fluid, vaginal secretions, amniotic fluid, semen, synovial fluid from joints, and fluid from peritoneal space of lungs, heart or abdomen etc. Examples of body secretions include sputum, feces, urine, vomitus, sweat, breast milk, tears, nasal secretions etc.
• If there is a peril of spurting of fluid from a body part then eye protection measures, mask, and fluid repellent gowns should be worn like in the case of parturition.
• Disposal of solid biomedical wastes is done after segregation in specific color-coded plastic containers. Disposal of chemical wastes and cytotoxic drugs is done in black containers and after chemical treatment is finally secured in land fillings. Infected dressings are disposed in red containers and after autoclaving are buried deep. Pathological wastes and amputated body parts are disposed in a yellow container and are similarly buried deep. Infected plastics such as syringes, gloves are disinfected and disposed off in a blue container then subjected to recycling. Sharp objects such as needles and glass pieces are disposed of in a white container then finally in a sharp pit.
The key to a healthy living lies in keeping oneself shielded from infections and it unanimously applies to all. The health-care professionals are predominantly exposed to high level of infection, especially the surgeons as they directly deal with the infected tissue. Yet, with a rigorous comprehensive approach, involving an adamant focus on infection vigilance at every step provides invulnerability to infections.