Double-gloving and the incidence of perforations during specific oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures

The concerns of surgeons about effective means of barrier protection during surgery is increasing owing to concern about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There are various oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures that require the use of sharp instruments, and the oral and maxillofacial surgeon may be at risk for contamination due to possible perforation of the surgical gloves when manipulating these instruments. This study evaluated the incidence of perforations when performing specific oral and maxillofacial surgical procedures when double-gloving barrier protection was used. It found an increased incidence of perforations when performing procedures that required the use of sharp instruments in comparison with those procedures that did not require the use of such instruments.