wedding ring in the or
TRANSCRIPT
Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2010) 63, e343ee344
CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATION
Wedding ring in the OR
We read with great interest the recent report from Dr.Pollard and Chan regarding the wedding or engagement ringin the OR.1
Of note, bacterial load has been referenced by theauthors and attributed to the wearing of the wedding ringin the OR under the glove. However, this observation is notincontrovertible. A recent level III cohort study over 4years and 2127 surgeries by a single surgeon revealed thatthere is no correlation between wearing a plain weddingband under the surgical glove and an increase in post-operative infections in orthopaedics.2 A British studyamong 10 surgeons and 10 anaesthesiologists supportedthat a traditional band wedding ring is not a source ofbacterial load following a standards surgical scrub proce-dure by means of microbiological testing.3 This observationis supported by another experimental study using ringbands under surgical gloves after proper scrubbing andmicrobiological workup. This study did not find a differ-ence between the ringed and the non-ringed fingersregarding the bacterial counts.4
Figure 1 Wedding ring knotted at the OR trouser.
1748-6815/$-seefrontmatterª2009BritishAssociationofPlastic,Reconstrucdoi:10.1016/j.bjps.2009.06.044
Besides the aforementioned reports, our surgical staffdoes not wear wedding or engagement rings in the OR. Wefound two additional solutions for storing of the wedding orengagement ring while in the OR. The trouser in the OR isusually bent, and as such the ring can be knotted within thetight bent of the OR trouser (Figure 1). Furthermore, as faras loop magnification is concerned, the boxes used for thesurgical head-worn loupe systems are perfect tools to storethe wedding ring while in the OR, too (Figure 2).
Disclosure
We have nothing to disclose. We received neither internalnor external funding.
References
1. Pollard RLE, Chan F. Bling in theatre: what to do with yourrings when you scrub. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2009;62:e182e3.
2. Stein DT, Pankovich-Wargula AL. The dilemma of the weddingband. Orthopedics 2009;32:2.
Figure 2 Wedding ring placed in the loupe magnificationglasses box from the microsurgeon.
tiveandAestheticSurgeons.PublishedbyElsevierLtd.All rightsreserved.
e344 Correspondence and communication
3. Al-Allak A, Sarasin S, Key S, et al. Wedding rings are nota significant source of bacterial contamination followingsurgical scrubbing. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2008;90:133e5.
4. WatermanTR, SmeakDD, Kowalski J, et al. Comparison of bacterialcounts in glove juice of surgeons wearing smooth band rings versusthose without rings. Am J Infect Control 2006;34:421e5.
K. KnoblochP.M. Vogt
Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery,Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625
Hannover, GermanyE-mail address: [email protected]