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Skin blade versus deep blade: a vehicle of contamination in podiatric surgery

V B Cibella1, L Smith, M Haas

  • 1Cambridge Hospital Podiatric Surgical Residency Program.

The Journal of Foot Surgery
|January 1, 1990
PubMed

Insights

Changing surgical blades between skin and deep incisions in podiatric surgery did not reduce bacterial contamination. Staphylococcus epidermidis was cultured from five blades, suggesting current practices may not prevent contamination effectively.

Area of Science:

  • Podiatric Surgery
  • Surgical Site Infection Control
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Surgical site contamination is a concern in podiatric procedures.
  • Current practices include blade changes to minimize bacterial transfer.
  • Evidence supporting the efficacy of blade changes is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of changing surgical blades from skin to deep incisions.
  • To determine the rate of bacterial contamination on surgical blades in podiatric surgery.
  • To assess if blade changes reduce contamination of clean surgical wounds.

Main Methods:

  • 166 surgical blades (control, skin, deep) were collected from 50 elective podiatric surgeries.
  • Blades were cultured to identify bacterial presence.
  • Data analyzed to correlate blade use with contamination rates.

Main Results:

  • Staphylococcus epidermidis was cultured from five blades across four cases.
  • No significant difference in contamination was observed based on blade type (skin vs. deep).
  • The practice of changing blades did not demonstrably reduce contamination.

Conclusions:

  • The study does not support the practice of changing surgical blades to prevent contamination in podiatric surgery.
  • Bacterial contamination, including Staphylococcus epidermidis, can occur regardless of blade change protocols.
  • Further research may be needed to optimize contamination prevention strategies in podiatric procedures.

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