7.4a Retaining Piercings During Surgery
Description
This article is from the Piercing FAQ, by Anne Greenblatt with numerous contributions by others.
7.4a Retaining Piercings During Surgery
Most hospitals' policies require that patients remove all jewelry
prior to surgery in the interest of the patients' safety. Depending on
the location, jewelry may interfere with procedures. For example, oral
and nasal jewelry can interfere with breathing apparatuses. Certain
types of emergency equiptment such as the heart defibrillator can
cause electrical burns if the patient is wearing or touching metal.
Nylon ear studs, available from most department and accesory stores,
can be worn in ear, nose and lip piercings during surgery. These studs
have a flat disc at one end and are secured with a barrel-style
clasp. Unfortunately these studs are only available in thicknesses
equivalant to approximately 20 or 18 gauge.
Monfilament nylon cord, such as fishing line and weed trimmer line
sold in small spools at hardware stores, can be matched fairly well to
various gauges. The packages state the metric thickness of the cord
which can be compared to the thickness of the jewelry. Please refer to
Part 2B of the Piercing FAQ for a list of gauges and their metric
equivalents. The ends should be rounded and smoothed using a file. The
piece should be disinfected prior to wearing. Securing monofilament is
often difficult. The ends may be flattened into a disc shape using a
hot knife or the ends can be wrapped with tape. Monofilament can be
autoclaved safely.
The Association of Operating Room Nurses addressed the issue of
removing body jewelry for surgery in an article appearing at
http://www.aorn.org/journal/297/clinical.htm
Continue to:
My Books
