day, says Dr. Jagger. She says it's easy to lose sight of how far we've
come, but the need to protect healthcare workers remains the same.
"Double-gloving was found not only to reduce contact with blood,
but also to reduce needlestick injuries," says Dr. Jagger. "The suture
needle has to go through 2 layers. It offers 2 layers of protection."
The worries over infectious disease transmission in the OR have
changed with time. In 2019, hepatitis C poses a big concern for health-
care workers, says Mary J. Ogg, MSN, RN, CNOR, senior perioperative
practice specialist at AORN.
Practice makes perfect
Dr. Jagger says there was a "wave of whining" that followed double-
gloving and the other healthcare worker safety initiatives of the 1980s.
Slowly, the changes started to take hold.
Dr. Berguer has similar memories of the response in the surgical
community. "The initial reaction from many surgeons was that they
didn't like it, that it changes my tactile sensation." But it's important to
look at the big picture, he says.
Dr. Berguer says it can take surgeons a couple weeks to get accli-
mated to the feeling of wearing 2 gloves on each hand, but they do get
used to it over time. Some surgical specialties, such as neurosurgery,
may require finer suturing and a more delicate touch. Wearing a single
pair of gloves makes sense for those cases.
"Whether you're doing general, orthopedics or plastics or all the other
specialties that are out there, I think you can get used to it," says Dr.
Berguer. "Just start double-gloving on cases where you don't think
there's fine suturing involved. After a while you realize it doesn't really
change what you're doing."
Surgeons are creatures of habit, prioritizing repetition and consis-
tency in everything they do. Once they get used to wearing 2 pairs of
6 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 1 9
