An analysis found surgeons' surgical hats are not tied to a higher risk for surgical site infection or surgical site occurrences that require procedural intervention, according to General Surgery News.
The analysis assessed 68 Cleveland Clinic's surgeons who performed 6,200 ventral hernia repairs. Michael Rosen, MD, director of the Comprehensive Hernia Center at the Cleveland Clinic and medical director of the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative, led the study.
Here are four things to know:
1. Researchers conducted the analysis after many industry experts questioned if the headwear compromised patient safety.
2. The study found no cases showing wearing a surgical cap of skull cap lead to SSIs or SSOs requiring procedural intervention.
3. Facets that did lead to these interventions included:
● Patient female gender
● Obesity
● Hypertension
● Hernia width
● Modified Ventral Hernia Working Group grade
● An operating room time exceeding two hours
4. Dr. Rosen said "I used this study to say there appears to be absolutely no difference over what headgear you wear... These kinds of decisions—to get surgeons to give up skullcaps—are things that decrease morale. If we are making decisions based on non-science, that's a dangerous decrease to morale."
