Staying Cool in the OR

[basupran]

So I sweat...a lot... On top of it all, one of the hospitals I work at doesn't have functional air conditioning....
when I wear lead + gown + crappy OR cap and have the OR lights shining into the field, I start sweating profusely and fear dripping into the surgical site.

Anyone have any suggestions or solutions on staying cool?
I plan on purchasing a few of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Frogg-Togg-Ch...=1371846356&sr=8-2&keywords=cooling+neck+wrap

I was also looking for a cooling surgical hat and came upon this:

http://www.google.com/patents/US4672968

Does anyone know of anything more functional/modern that I would be able to purchase?

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[JETER]

Fellow sweater here -
I don't so much care about the lead-outline sweat, that won't drip into the field. However the forehead flop is bad. Try Drysol on the head/face/neck, qhs for about two weeks. Temporarily shuts down those pores, and you won't sweat. You would then need a weekly maintenance application. They make caps with sown-in sweat-bands, that might be a little more discrete than your robotic cooling machine. We use some stand-alone pink sweat sponges that you get wet and put under the cap. Some of the burn guys use water-cooled vests hooked up to a heat exchanger, but you probably don't want to be that guy. And there are the old standbys: Drink ice water, take some benadryl, avoid coffee, and stop lifting before the OR.

Curious if anyone else has any other tips

 

[filter07]

http://www.polarsoftice.com/surgeon.html

 

[dpmd]

I have no advice for you because I am usually opposite (freezing all the time), but this reminds me of what I heard about our gyn onc guy. Evidently he sweats so badly during some cases that he gives a longer antibiotic prophylaxis for those patients that he sweats into. Not sure there is any literature about that though.

 

[basupran]

http://www.polarsoftice.com/surgeon.html

There is no way that the hospital will pay for that. I saw it.

http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Factory-...8&qid=1372075768&sr=8-3&keywords=cooling+vest

Something like this is an idea as well. Can fit those ice packs.

 

[Pir8DeacDoc]

what year resident are you? Sometimes the sweating stuff settles down when you get more senior and aren't nervous all the time. I was a sweater in med school but once I got to be a PGY-2 or so, it got a lot better and now I rarely is ever sweat.

 

[Kahreek]

I have no advice for you because I am usually opposite (freezing all the time), but this reminds me of what I heard about our gyn onc guy. Evidently he sweats so badly during some cases that he gives a longer antibiotic prophylaxis for those patients that he sweats into. Not sure there is any literature about that though.

Is it me or temperature in OR is set always to warm, be it summer or winter.
Is there any scientific purpose to this.
Before attending surgeries i always had the idea that the OR was a cold place.


edit: found this http://www.blog.greatzs.com/2011/11/why-is-operating-room-so-damn-cold.html

so a good practice is to keep the OR warm. Not cold.

 

[Kahreek]

btw, led lights are godsend. Whitest light you can have and they dont get warm.
Led is a cheap technology now, no excuses from the hospital not to have those in the or.

 

[dpmd]

Is it me or temperature in OR is set always to warm, be it summer or winter.
Is there any scientific purpose to this.
Before attending surgeries i always had the idea that the OR was a cold place.


edit: found this http://www.blog.greatzs.com/2011/11/why-is-operating-room-so-damn-cold.html

so a good practice is to keep the OR warm. Not cold.

Our ORs are kept at about 68, but at that temp I still feel cold. Most of the people in this thread feel hot at that temp though I bet. I absolutely loved my burn rotation because it was the first time I felt comfortable during a case. The issue is when there is a lot of physical effort associated with the case. I have on occasion gotten to feel a little warm and even start to sweat a little during a particularly physically exerting portion of a case (even with the room set at the same level as always). I guess for people who tend to run "hotter" than me it would truly suck to be in physically demanding cases all the time, but the cooling vest is a great idea in that circumstance (because then the patient gets to stay at a more optimal temp without all the extra warming crap we do to them, which is just going to make the surgeon warmer anyway-one of my favorite things is leaning against the portion of the patient with the bair hugger on when I am cold, or just taking the hose and shoving it down the back of my scrubs works too). As for the program or hospital not being willing to pay for it, I don't know. Like I said, our gyn onc guy just suffers and deals with the sweat, but a pregnant ob/gyn resident now has a cooling vest to wear for all her cases. Guess it never hurts to ask.

One thing that can cool you down for a little bit at least is to have someone pour some alcohol on your back. Also can help keep a struggling med student from fainting if you catch it in time.

 

[KLPM]

I am always freezing in the OR. 🙁

Especially when they have that annoying "laminar flow" coming down from the ceiling.

 

[Kahreek]

i am pretty sure they intentionally set the OR for about 24ºCelsius or more. 68fahrenheit is 20 celsius about the perfect confort working temperature indoors.
It actually feels substantly warmer than the adjacent corridors. I've heard it is to prevent hypothermia and infections, and better blood clotting. A warm body, with blood flow to all parts has more efficient immunity defense.
Bacteria spreading is not prevented by cold, only growth, and the growth happens after the operation anyway.

Although, I would consider 24º celsius confortable if you are relaxed, wearing light fabric, short sleeved scrubs and a gown.

 

[dpmd]

i am pretty sure they intentionally set the OR for about 24ºCelsius or more.

Probably hospital dependent, but I know a lot of people who think the OR is set for a hotter temp than it really is (you can always look on the wall here and I laugh sometimes because most of the time when people say it is too hot, the room is the exact same temp it always is). You probably have a point about the lights though. I wonder what the temp under the lights is here?