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CUTTING REMARKS
John D. Kelly IV, MD
Hey, Who Let All These People in My Room?
With so many visitors allowed in, the OR can get awfully crowded.
As a teacher in an academic
institution, I'm accustomed
to frequent visitors to the
OR. Medical students, therapists,
athletic trainers and, Lord knows
why, other surgeons frequently
observe my surgeries in the spirit
of learning. Teaching is a role I do
take seriously, yet each visitor carries some element of risk.
• The traffic jam. There's good data indicating that frequent OR traffic
increases infection risk. More people means more carriers of bacteria.
Some unfortunate souls are deemed as shedders and exude more bacteria than my daughter's pet rat. When my room gets too crowded, we
fasten a DO NOT ENTER sign across the door (see "Crowd Control").
• The contaminator. Despite my best efforts, there is always a looming
observer who saunters too close to the surgical field and touches
either my gown or one of my assistants. Ouch! Yes, I have a PhD in
sterility, and surgery is one discipline where it pays to have at least a
little obsessive compulsive disorder. We have a saying in orthopedics:
Infections are forever. Not entirely true, but close. After I politely reprimand the offender and don my sterile sleeve, I attempt to finish the
case and pray I won't have a repeat offender. I then reinforce to the
audience that the surgical no-fly zone is at least 3 feet away from me.
If the student has bad breath, it's 6 feet.
• The fainter. It happens every year: Some poor soul witnesses surgery
