Surgery Goggles

[chemist157]

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I was in on a case yesterday where we had a squirter. Fortunately it sprayed all over the attending's face shield and not on my face since I was only wearing the mask. I prefer not to use the face shield/mask combo thing and was wondering what most of you guys use. Do you use the safety goggles type or oakley's, or what?

 

[VFib911]

Oakley M-frame with the clear heater lens. I believe they also made them with vent holes in the top of the lens near the connection with the frame. I used tape on the top of my mask so fogging was not an issue with the non-vented lens. I also have a set of clear gargoyles for shooting at the range, but they do not give you the same level of "squirter" protection.

 

[Winged Scapula]

I just wear my loupes, even if I don't need them for vision, for eye protection.

I'm suprised you got into the OR without eye protection; most scrub nurses would catch that.

Keeping the top of your mask tight (even if it means taping it down) and the bottom loose helps to prevent fogging if that's the reason you don't wear the face mask with eye shield.

Try the disposable eye shields to see if you like them better than the mask. I would not recommend spending money on Oakleys or anything else yet...you never know the customs at your future residency program. In some places, medical students and junior residents who purchase these things are made fun of.

 

[ESU_MD]

I just wear my loupes, even if I don't need them for vision, for eye protection.

I'm suprised you got into the OR without eye protection; most scrub nurses would catch that.

\.

It seems eye protection in the OR is getting much more attention. The OR nurses are maniacal about making the med students wear those cheap plastic glasses now. Hell, they even make the non-scrubbed observers wear eye protection!!

When I finished gen surgery, only a few dinosaur attendings could get away with going bare-eye in the OR. I have to admit its a nice feeling the few times I did it, for like lap chole, etc..

If I ever practiced gen surgery, I would still wear loupes on every case- mostly for theatrics, but mainly because I can't see without them!! You would be surprised how much better you can see things with magnification, even on meatball cases.

WS- that is HARDCORE to wear loupes on breast cases!! I hope you wear a headlite too. I know a famous breast surgeon who wears a headlite on every case, even needle loc bx.

 

[SocialistMD]

WS- that is HARDCORE to wear loupes on breast cases!! I hope you wear a headlite too.

That was my response, too. It reminds me of one of our cardiac surgeons who came in wearing his 3.5x loupes to perform a tracheostomy

 

[Winged Scapula]

WS- that is HARDCORE to wear loupes on breast cases!! I hope you wear a headlite too. I know a famous breast surgeon who wears a headlite on every case, even needle loc bx.

I do wear a headlight for many axillary node dissections (especially in larger, fatty women), for mastectomies in very large breasted women and sometimes when doing bilaterals with immediate reconstruction in a room with only two lights (when PRS is using 1 light, and 1 is not enough illumination).

The headlight is on my case card...there's one hospital that has this great light that they borrow from the ED..its so big and bright, its like those lights road workers use for nighttime construction. They bring that for me when I ask so I don't have the wear the headlamp.

But every case? Seems a bit extreme to me.

The loupes are only for convenience; I find them easier to prevent fogging than shields or other glasses, so I just wear them. They do come in handy to see small vessels and nerves but most of the time I'm not looking through the mag portion.

The theatrical factor is HUGE of course.

 

[chemist157]

It seems eye protection in the OR is getting much more attention. The OR nurses are maniacal about making the med students wear those cheap plastic glasses now. Hell, they even make the non-scrubbed observers wear eye protection!!

When I finished gen surgery, only a few dinosaur attendings could get away with going bare-eye in the OR. I have to admit its a nice feeling the few times I did it, for like lap chole, etc..

If I ever practiced gen surgery, I would still wear loupes on every case- mostly for theatrics, but mainly because I can't see without them!! You would be surprised how much better you can see things with magnification, even on meatball cases.

WS- that is HARDCORE to wear loupes on breast cases!! I hope you wear a headlite too. I know a famous breast surgeon who wears a headlite on every case, even needle loc bx.

It was actually a C-section, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Maybe those scrub nurses are less maniacal. After it happened the attending just looked at me, kinda laughed, and said "i bet you'll wear a shield from now on, huh?".

 

[smq123]

It was actually a C-section, so I don't know if that makes a difference. Maybe those scrub nurses are less maniacal. After it happened the attending just looked at me, kinda laughed, and said "i bet you'll wear a shield from now on, huh?".

Yeah...I can't imagine anyone wearing a pair of loupes or safety goggles for a c-section. L&D is such a fast-paced chaotic circus, that wasting time having to hunt down your pair of loupes would be madness. Not to mention how incredibly stupid you'd look if you needed loupes for a c-section.

C-sections are fairly short. Just wear the shield. And the boots. I know that they're not comfortable, but it's certainly more comfortable than meconium in your eye.

 

[SLUser11]

I was in on a case yesterday where we had a squirter. Fortunately it sprayed all over the attending's face shield and not on my face since I was only wearing the mask. I prefer not to use the face shield/mask combo thing and was wondering what most of you guys use. Do you use the safety goggles type or oakley's, or what?

You can go to Dick's sporting goods or Sports authority and buy a nice pair of racquetball specs for $5-10. That is my suggestion. They're less likely to fog up, and are infinitely more tolerable than the face shield. Otherwise, there are about a thousand websites where you can buy different low-profile safety glasses. I agree with WS that some fancy glasses are a waste of money and will get scratched/lost just as fast.

As for not wearing any eye protection at all, it only takes one bad case to make you a believer.....for me, it was being tagged in the eye as an MS3 on OB. There have been many times since then where my specs have saved me from Hep C and HIV attacks to the face.

I personally only wear my loupes for vascular and thoracic cases. I would recommend against wearing them routinely if the mag isn't needed, purely from an ergonomic viewpoint to protect your neck. Also, the wear and tear of daily use on a $1000 pair of glasses seems unjustified when you could just get some plain old glasses to do the same thing. Still, you have to do what's comfortable for you, so I guess it really doesn't matter that much.

 

[ESU_MD]

purely from an ergonomic viewpoint to protect your neck. .

this is a major point, and probably a downside of the designs for visions loupes- they essentially destroy your neck.

Not quite sure yet how I am going to make it through my career without needing a neck lami. or a perforated stomach from taking motrin for neck pain

 

[Habeed]

Well, this makes me curious. Loupes reduce your field of vision, right?

Although, in practice, I guess if your cone of vision is occupied by the surgical field only, that would actually be more efficient than being able to see the rest of the patient out of the corners of your eyes. And I suppose you let the gas man or woman worry about if the rest of the patient's body is doing anything. And the assistants hand you each additional instrument.

 

[TheGrog]

I actually use a pair of shooting glasses that I got at Walmart. Winchester makes them. They are very comfortable and I have been splashed several times without anything getting in my eyes. The best part is that they cost $4.

My $0.02

 

[aphistis]

And here I thought this thread was going to be about people becoming more attractive the longer you were in residency--i.e., the surgery version of beer goggles. What a letdown. 😛

 

[Dr. Dukes]

And here I thought this thread was going to be about people becoming more attractive the longer you were in residency--i.e., the surgery version of beer goggles. What a letdown. 😛

Equally disappointed!

 

[toxic_megacolon]

Any suggestions for where to find 'goggles' with prescription lenses in them?

 

[core0]

Any suggestions for where to find 'goggles' with prescription lenses in them?

You can get prescription Oakleys. Expensive though.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Any suggestions for where to find 'goggles' with prescription lenses in them?

All of the loupe manufacturers make prescription lenses.

 

[CTS]

Guys, what do you think about buying lead containing goggles? We do fair number of endovascular procedures.
Thanks.

 

[ESU_MD]

talk to your endovascular stent rep. they give these out like candy.