A large majority of doctors in my department wear two pairs of gloves during an operation. I had a general idea why they did so. But these are times of precision. So I asked people who worked in the OTs their reasons for doing so. I had to use intermediaries in case of residents for fear of not getting their true answers if I asked the question myself. Some of the answers were educative and entertaining at the same time. They were as follows.
- Hospital supply of gloves is such that one or both the gloves tear during use. When that happens, there is another one under it. That gives protection to ....(read answers 2 to 4).
- When the outer glove tears, the inner glove protects the doctor from catching some disease from the patient's body fluids.
- If I wear only one pair and one of the gloves tears, I get electric shock when I use electrocautery. If I have two pairs on, I don't get any shock when the outer glove tears, because the inner one electrically insulates my hand.
- When the outer glove tears, the inner glove prevents bacteria from the surgeon's hand entering the operative field.
- When the surgeon wears the gloves using a wrong technique, i.e. touching the outer surface of a glove with bare skin, it gets contaminated. Another glove on top of it nullifies the effect of this contamination.
- The air conditioner in the OT is so strong! Two gloves keep my hands warm (with the air cushion in between them as insulation?).
- After the operation, I remove the outer blood stained gloves and use the clean ones inside to apply dressing to the wound. That keeps the dressing clean.
- When I have to get an instrument from the general trolley while assisting an operation and there is no one to give it to me, I remove my outer glove, get the instrument, and then put on the glove again. Thus I do not contaminate the general trolley.
- I do it because the senior resident told me to do so.
- I heard the Boss hits on the knuckles with a surgical instrument if the resident goofs up while assisting him perform an operation. Two gloves would reduce the trauma. (Would knuckle pads be more useful?)
