Surgery rotation: bringing your own protective eyewear?

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Grurik

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I have problem getting really warm and sweaty when scrubbed in. I have identified the protective eyewear (or rather the visor) or these single-use stuff to really make me feel uncomfortable. I have tried to tape, put it like 1 cm from the face and so on. Nothing have worked yet. Tried with just normal glasses and it felt better at least for the moment I tried it..

I thought about getting some neutral squash/racquet eyewear such as:
http://images.racquetdepot.co.uk/ebay/template/productimages/black-knight-turbo-goggles.jpg

However, I don't want to be seen as a douche. Normally it seems that it is only the residents and attending wearing those kind of glasses..

What do you - surgery residents and attendings - think about this?

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Honestly you'll probably get labelled a douche.

The culture of such things like this, while petty, is very program dependent. At my med school, every surgical resident bought the exact same pair of old school Buddy Holly loupes and no one would ever dream of wearing anything other than the disposable eyewear.

At my residency lots of people have the Oakley or Nike loupes...but still very few people have their own protective eyewear. One guy had a pair of M-frames with clear lenses as an intern. We jokingly called him "SWAT" (not mean spirited) but he eventually stopped wearing them. But some of the chiefs legitimately thought it was presumptuous.

If I were you I'd get a pair of cheap eyeglasses with non-prescription lenses if anything. Or find ways to work with the disposable kind.
 
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Buy some glasses with non-corrective lenses. Not "Black Night Turbo Goggles" (who the hell named those?), but a pair of regular old glasses.
 
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Thanks guys. Then I will go for glasses with non-corrective lenses. I just thought the glasses were better than the disposable kind (tried it when scrubbed in at PCI lab).

Lol, did not really pay attention to the name of the glasses. Just made a quick google search.
 
I struggled with this for a long time but eventually found the right balance that keeps the disposable eyewear from fogging up. Basically:

1) Use the masks with the adhesive across the top. Tie it so the lower ties are a little bit loose. The idea is that the warm air will preferentially escape this way rather than up to your goggles.

2) Keep the goggles far enough from your face that air can circulate but not so far that they fall off into the field.

3) If it's a peds case or with fluoro and lead, then I add the extra tape

As for other eyewear, I think anything is fine. I have some of my own that I wear when I remember to bring them and nobody has ever said a word; just some no-name cheapos from amazon. I think that as long as you're not wearing loupes as a student it probably won't even be noticed.
 
Like the others have said, either the disposable or some non-prescription regular glasses are best. The culture can be hard to understand; in my residency, like @southernIMs, *everyone* wore the Buddy Holly DFV loupes.

One prelim came in with these racquetball goggles and wore a patterned scrub cap (not allowed for students or junior residents) *everywhere* he went. He was nicknamed "the hat" and we bullied him mercilessly for violating the "standard". Petty yes, but fun.
 
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FYI, some places won't let you (especially medical students of course!!!!) get away with wearing just glasses as protective eyewear. I tried that one time and was told I was going to cost the OR $50,000 in fines and that I better put some sort of disposable shield OR they also make these little plastic cutout pieces that you slide onto the ear pieces to act as "side protection". I think it is kind of dumb because meanwhile my attending has on no eye protection at all. But on the other hand I have definitely gotten unexpectedly sprayed in the face before and appreciate the increased coverage from the OR provided stuff (especially since your instinct is to turn away from the source of the spray thereby aiming the unprotected side of your face right at it).

Basically wear only glasses at your own risk (of blood and scrub nurse wrath)
 
you are right,I think that as long as you're not wearing loupes as a student it probably won't even be noticed.thanks
MjYNYm
 
Like the others have said, either the disposable or some non-prescription regular glasses are best. The culture can be hard to understand; in my residency, like @southernIMs, *everyone* wore the Buddy Holly DFV loupes.

One prelim came in with these racquetball goggles and wore a patterned scrub cap (not allowed for students or junior residents) *everywhere* he went. He was nicknamed "the hat" and we bullied him mercilessly for violating the "standard". Petty yes, but fun.
[URL='https://www.etsy.com/market/surgical_scrub_hat'][URL='https://www.etsy.com/market/or_scrub_cap'][/URL][/URL]
LOL.
 
When I was on ortho in non-arthroplasty cases, everyone who didn't wear glasses wore a regular mask over their mouth, then took a face-shield mask, folded the mouth cover over a few times (so that it was a rectangle the width of a standard forehead sweat band, turned it upside down, and tied it around their forehead with the mask hanging down.

Stopped sweat, and never ever fogged up. Probably looked silly, but no one seemed to care since it was functional.
 
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Thanks all for your answers, they are appreciated. I know the surgery culture can be quite strict but I was lucky I asked here before I bought any protective eyewear :D

I still sweat some during the first 10 min or so. Do you guys have any tips on staying cool in the OR? Have you any scrubbing in tips that makes you feel more comfortable?

The gown, do you tie it loose?

One of the best tips I got was to tie the lower part of the mask quite loose so the air can enter there instead of right into the eyes. It helps a lot.
 
One prelim came in with these racquetball goggles and wore a patterned scrub cap (not allowed for students or junior residents) *everywhere* he went. He was nicknamed "the hat" and we bullied him mercilessly for violating the "standard". Petty yes, but fun.

.
 
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Thanks all for your answers, they are appreciated. I know the surgery culture can be quite strict but I was lucky I asked here before I bought any protective eyewear :D

I still sweat some during the first 10 min or so. Do you guys have any tips on staying cool in the OR? Have you any scrubbing in tips that makes you feel more comfortable?

The gown, do you tie it loose?

One of the best tips I got was to tie the lower part of the mask quite loose so the air can enter there instead of right into the eyes. It helps a lot.

Try this out.

Although if you wore that in the OR as a student, you would be laughed out of the building.

I particularly like the embroidered option:

coolor_embroidery_1327_detail.jpg
 
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Thanks all for your answers, they are appreciated. I know the surgery culture can be quite strict but I was lucky I asked here before I bought any protective eyewear :D

I still sweat some during the first 10 min or so. Do you guys have any tips on staying cool in the OR? Have you any scrubbing in tips that makes you feel more comfortable?

The gown, do you tie it loose?

One of the best tips I got was to tie the lower part of the mask quite loose so the air can enter there instead of right into the eyes. It helps a lot.

Well,
I don't sweat in all cases. But there was a CABG that a surgeon did w/o bypass and the room wasn't cooled to normal temps. Needless to say; I was drenched in sweat. I can only recommend those dry-fit performance shirts people use in gyms. Otherwise; suck it up and change scrubs when the case is done.
 
Well,
I don't sweat in all cases. But there was a CABG that a surgeon did w/o bypass and the room wasn't cooled to normal temps. Needless to say; I was drenched in sweat. I can only recommend those dry-fit performance shirts people use in gyms. Otherwise; suck it up and change scrubs when the case is done.

Imagine an operating room heated to ~95 degrees, a case so dirty you are double ortho gloved with two face shields (upper and lower), and by the end your gown and scrubs will be 49% blood, 49% sweat, and 2% cotton by weight. Gym shoes are preferred over Danskos because the mesh allows blood to drain better and not collect in the foot bed.

Welcome to the burn OR. Loved that **** post-call.
 
Imagine an operating room heated to ~95 degrees, a case so dirty you are double ortho gloved with two face shields (upper and lower), and by the end your gown and scrubs will be 49% blood, 49% sweat, and 2% cotton by weight. Gym shoes are preferred over Danskos because the mesh allows blood to drain better and not collect in the foot bed.

Welcome to the burn OR. Loved that **** post-call.
Ha! No, I don't even come close. The closest was this past week doing cardiothoracics and the attending letting me be first assist/suturing the internal mammary during a CABG. I was so ****ing nervous... He didn't help with "So, don't screw this up because we only have one artery and... this patient only has one aorta." I was drenched. I almost had a heart attack by the end.
 
Ha! No, I don't even come close. The closest was this past week doing cardiothoracics and the attending letting me be first assist/suturing the internal mammary during a CABG. I was so ******* nervous... He didn't help with "So, don't screw this up because we only have one artery and... this patient only has one aorta." I was drenched. I almost had a heart attack by the end.

I dropped the heart during a CABG last month. He was in the middle of a distal anastamosis to RCA or something, and I was holding the heart up. Thing slipped. Attending said, "I've close to 4000 CABGs, and I've never seen that happen".

So hopefully that's the low point of intern year.
 
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I dropped the heart during a CABG last month. He was in the middle of a distal anastamosis to RCA or something, and I was holding the heart up. Thing slipped. Attending said, "I've close to 4000 CABGs, and I've never seen that happen".

So hopefully that's the low point of intern year.

Caution: Slippery when wet
 
Imagine an operating room heated to ~95 degrees, a case so dirty you are double ortho gloved with two face shields (upper and lower), and by the end your gown and scrubs will be 49% blood, 49% sweat, and 2% cotton by weight. Gym shoes are preferred over Danskos because the mesh allows blood to drain better and not collect in the foot bed.

Welcome to the burn OR. Loved that **** post-call.

You gotta wear the knee high waders for a burn case...
 
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I dropped the heart during a CABG last month. He was in the middle of a distal anastamosis to RCA or something, and I was holding the heart up. Thing slipped. Attending said, "I've close to 4000 CABGs, and I've never seen that happen".

So hopefully that's the low point of intern year.
Did it hit the floor?

2 week ago we had a nipple-areolar complex hit the floor during a free nipple graft. I felt sorry for the (new) scrub tech because the plastic surgeon had been admonishing her not to "steal" instruments we were using from the field, so she just left the nipple sit on the field rather than put it someplace safe (as I did with the first side). Of course between the puffed up Bair Hugger, the suction and Bovie, it got knocked to the floor. The plastic surgeon was not pleased (already not pleased at having to do a free nipple graft); I had to have a talk with her about treating staff fairly and not being rude (because they complain to me about it).

Not as exciting as a heart hitting the floor, but just the same...
 
Did it hit the floor?

2 week ago we had a nipple-areolar complex hit the floor during a free nipple graft. I felt sorry for the (new) scrub tech because the plastic surgeon had been admonishing her not to "steal" instruments we were using from the field, so she just left the nipple sit on the field rather than put it someplace safe (as I did with the first side). Of course between the puffed up Bair Hugger, the suction and Bovie, it got knocked to the floor. The plastic surgeon was not pleased (already not pleased at having to do a free nipple graft); I had to have a talk with her about treating staff fairly and not being rude (because they complain to me about it).

Not as exciting as a heart hitting the floor, but just the same...

I know it's been a while since you've seen a CABG...but they usually leave the heart attached ;)

I think @VisionaryTics was holding it up/rotating it to better expose the distal anastomosis target.
 
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Did it hit the floor?

No, it was a CABG so it was just flipped superiorly to the expose the posterior surface. He was in the middle of the anastamosis and I was standing kind of behind the attending with my arm extended, holding the heart up. I couldn't feel or see anything. Then I just hear, "Oh...oh...OH!" The heart slipped out of my fingers and flopped back into anatomical position.

Thank god the graft and coronary were completely fine.
 
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Did it hit the floor?

2 week ago we had a nipple-areolar complex hit the floor during a free nipple graft. I felt sorry for the (new) scrub tech because the plastic surgeon had been admonishing her not to "steal" instruments we were using from the field, so she just left the nipple sit on the field rather than put it someplace safe (as I did with the first side). Of course between the puffed up Bair Hugger, the suction and Bovie, it got knocked to the floor. The plastic surgeon was not pleased (already not pleased at having to do a free nipple graft); I had to have a talk with her about treating staff fairly and not being rude (because they complain to me about it).

Not as exciting as a heart hitting the floor, but just the same...

I'm curious; has anyone had a positive experience with plastic surgery? :laugh: jk
 
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