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Surgical Techniques
Textbook for medical students

Edited by Mihály Boros

University of Szeged
Faculty of Medicine
Institute of Surgical Research

Szeged, 2006

Supported by ROP–3.3.1–2005–02–0001/34. project

Readership:
Dr. Erzsébet Rőth
Dr. György Lázár
Dr. Csaba Gaál

Publisher:
Dr. Mihály Boros

Cover design:
Attila Pálfi

Press:
Innovariant Ltd.
3 Textilgyári Rd., H-6725 Szeged

Volume: 7.5 (A/4) printed sheets, 120 pages, 285 figures.

ISBN 963 482 785 3

© Prof. Dr. Mihály Boros, 2006

Introduction
“Surgical techniques” is a subject relating to the principles of surgery. Traditionally it discusses instrumentation, tools
and sterile techniques used to perform safe operations by generations of surgeons. A relatively new, but continuously
expanding element is linked to the development of clinical surgery. This part involves surgical research on the pathophysiology of the perioperative period, and scientific studies on the consequences of invasive procedures on the body
functions and on the relationship of surgery and patient care in general. These aspects are of utmost importance for
the achievement of good surgical results. In brief, “surgical techniques” is concerned with the methodology of classical surgery, and may also be regarded as the deontology of modern surgery (deontology = theory of obligations).
This handbook is based on the topics presented on the graduate courses at the Institute of Surgical Research at the
University of Szeged. These courses do not cover all aspects of clinical surgery; the intention is rather to give a general
overview of basic techniques which could be used in practice in all major fields and subspecialties. There are a number
of conventional surgical techniques that have been in use for some time and the scalpel is the symbolic instrument of
these fields. However, it is being replaced by new and more effective surgical tools, sophisticated computer technology
and techniques such as laser, robotic or minimally invasive surgery. If we wish to be at the forefront of these;  advances,
the new methods should also be discussed.
The volumes have been compiled by the staff and PhD students of the Institute (Dr. Ágnes Adamicza, Dr. Mihály
Boros, Dr. Tamás Jánossy, Dr. József Kaszaki, Dr. Andrea Szabó, Dr. Csilla Torday, Gabriella Varga, Dr. Gábor Erős
and Dr. Miklós Czóbel), together with Dr. László Szalay (Department of Ophthalmology), Dr. Zsolt Bella (Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology) and Dr. Zoltán Bajory (Department of Urology). The editor wishes to acknowledge
the creative illustrations by Drs Miklós Czóbel and László Szalay and Mrs. Kálmánné Csíkszentimrei. The activities of
Dr. Miklós Czóbel have made it possible to maintain a highly effective website (http://web.szote.u-szeged.hu/expsur)
where the main parts of this book can be found.
The ROP-3.3.1-2005-02-0001/34 project has led to an infrastructure for skills training where specific invasive techniques can be safely practised and mastered. We hope that the new skills laboratory at the Institute of Surgical Research, this handbook and the website (http://web.szote.u-szeged.hu/expsur/rop/index.htm) will stand the test of
time, and that many medical students will benefit from them.
Mihály Boros
November 2006, Szeged

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

3

Table of contents
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................3
Table of contents ..............................................................................................................................4
I. Asepsis and antisepsis .................................................................................................................9

1. Historical overview ................................................................................................................................................... 9
2. Asepsis and antisepsis in surgical practice ......................................................................................................... 10
3. Surgical infections, sources of wound contamination, interventions ............................................................ 11
4. Types of surgical wound contaminations and their classification .................................................................. 12
5. Prevention of wound contamination ................................................................................................................... 12
6. Risk factors of wound contamination ................................................................................................................. 13
7. Postoperative wound management ...................................................................................................................... 13
8. Sterilization, elimination and inactivation of pathogens ................................................................................. 14
9. Disinfection.............................................................................................................................................................. 14
10. Asepsis .................................................................................................................................................................... 14
10.1. Preparation of the skin before the operation .................................................................................... 14
10.2. Disinfection and scrubbing of the skin before the operation......................................................... 15
10.3. Isolation of the operating area (draping) ........................................................................................... 15
11. Basic rules of asepsis in the operating theater .................................................................................................. 16
11.1. Personnel attire in the operating room .............................................................................................. 16
12. Scrubbing, disinfection and gowning in general ............................................................................................. 16
13. Personnel attire and movement in the operating room .................................................................................. 20
14. Basic rules of asepsis in the operating room..................................................................................................... 21
15. Further important items to ensure asepsis and to avoid wound contamination ........................................ 21
16. Duties related to asepsis in the postoperative period ...................................................................................... 21
17. Surgical antisepsis ................................................................................................................................................. 21

II. The operating room .................................................................................................................22

1. Furniture, basic technical background ................................................................................................................ 22
2. Standard equipment ............................................................................................................................................... 22
3. The operating room personnel .............................................................................................................................. 23
3.1. Organization of the operating room personnel and their duties ..................................................... 23
4. Positioning of the surgical patient ....................................................................................................................... 23

III. Surgical instrumentation. Basic surgical instruments and their use ...................................25
1.
2.
3.
4.

Cutting and dissecting instruments .................................................................................................................... 25
Grasping instruments ............................................................................................................................................ 26
Retracting instruments .......................................................................................................................................... 28
Wound-closing instruments and materials ........................................................................................................ 28

IV. Basic wound-closing methods: sutures and clips .................................................................. 32
1.
2.
3.
4.

Types of sutures ....................................................................................................................................................... 32
Rules of wound closure .......................................................................................................................................... 32
Correct position of the needle holder .................................................................................................................. 32
Interrupted sutures ................................................................................................................................................. 33
4.1. Simple interrupted suture (sutura nodosa) .......................................................................................... 33
4.2. Vertical mattress suture (sec. Donati) .................................................................................................. 33
4.3. Vertical mattress suture sec. Allgöwer .................................................................................................. 33
4.4. Horizontal mattress suture .................................................................................................................... 33
5. Continuous sutures................................................................................................................................................. 33
5.1. Simple continuous suture (furrier suture, sutura pellionum) ........................................................... 33
5.2. Locked continuous suture ...................................................................................................................... 34
5.3. Subcuticular continuous suture ............................................................................................................ 34
5.4. Purse-string suture ................................................................................................................................. 34
6. Methods of wound closure .................................................................................................................................... 34
6.1. Suturing with simple interrupted knotted stitches (skin and subcutis closure) ........................... 34
6.2. Suturing with Donati stitches (skin closure) ...................................................................................... 35
6.3. Wound closure with metal clips (agrafe) ............................................................................................. 35
6.4. Other wound-closing methods ............................................................................................................. 36
7. Sutures in different tissues ..................................................................................................................................... 36
7.1. Failures of suturing technique ............................................................................................................... 36
7.2. Removing sutures .................................................................................................................................... 36

4

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
8. Surgical knots .......................................................................................................................................................... 37
8.1. Types of surgical knots ........................................................................................................................... 37
8.2. Two-handed knots .................................................................................................................................. 37
8.2.1. Reef knot or sailor’s knot .................................................................................................... 37
8.2.2. Surgeon’s knot ...................................................................................................................... 38
8.2.3. Viennese knot ....................................................................................................................... 39
8.2.4. Instrument tie....................................................................................................................... 40
8.3. Knotting under special circumstances ................................................................................................ 40
8.3.1. Knotting close to the surface .............................................................................................. 40
8.3.2. Tying under tension............................................................................................................. 41
8.3.3. Tying knots in cavities ........................................................................................................ 41
9. Wound closure in separate layers ......................................................................................................................... 42
9.1. Approximation of tissues in the depths ............................................................................................... 42
9.2. Closure of the subcutis ........................................................................................................................... 42
9.3. Skin stitches ............................................................................................................................................. 42
10. Drainage ................................................................................................................................................................. 42
10.1. Passive drainage ...................................................................................................................................... 42
10.2. Active drainage (with negative pressure): open, open-closed and closed tube systems ............ 43
10.3. Important localizations of drainage ................................................................................................... 44
10.4. Drain removal ........................................................................................................................................ 44

V. The operation ...........................................................................................................................45

1. Basic surgical interventions ................................................................................................................................... 45
2. Preparations for an operation ................................................................................................................................ 45
3. Informed consent .................................................................................................................................................... 45
4. Operative risk .......................................................................................................................................................... 46
4.1. Acute risk factors in surgery .................................................................................................................. 46
4.2. Chronic risk factors in surgery ............................................................................................................. 46
5. Preoperative management ..................................................................................................................................... 46
5.1. Evaluation of preoperative investigations ............................................................................................ 47
6. The preoperative preparation ................................................................................................................................ 47
7. Postoperative complication ................................................................................................................................... 47
7.1. Complications of anesthesia ................................................................................................................... 47
7.2. Complications depending on the time of occurrence ....................................................................... 47
7.2.1. Intraoperative complications ............................................................................................... 47
7.2.2. Postoperative complications .............................................................................................. 47
7.2.2.1. Postoperative fever .............................................................................................. 48
7.2.2.2. Complications of wound healing .................................................................... 48
7.2.2.3. Postoperative nausea and vomiting ................................................................ 49
7.3. Complications associated with the operative field ............................................................................. 49
8. Minor surgery .......................................................................................................................................................... 49
8.1. A short historical survey of local anesthesia ....................................................................................... 49
8.2. Local anesthetic drugs ............................................................................................................................ 49
8.2.1. Main classes, the “I” rule and the dangers of local anesthesia ...................................... 50
8.2.2. Dosage of local anesthetics and duration of anesthesia ................................................ 50
8.3. Main types ................................................................................................................................................ 50

VI. The perioperative period ........................................................................................................ 51

1. General preoperative preparation ........................................................................................................................ 51
1.1. Rules, interventions ................................................................................................................................. 51
1.2. Medication................................................................................................................................................ 51
1.3. Instruments .............................................................................................................................................. 51
2. Special preoperative preparation .......................................................................................................................... 51
2.1. Depending on the type of the operation .............................................................................................. 51
2.2. Preoperative preparation depending on the (organ) system ........................................................... 51
3. The perioperative fluid balance ............................................................................................................................. 52
3.1. General rules ............................................................................................................................................ 52
3.2. Perioperative fluid requirements .......................................................................................................... 52
4. Intravenous fluids ................................................................................................................................................... 53
4.1. Crystalloids............................................................................................................................................... 53
4.2. Colloids ..................................................................................................................................................... 53
5. Perioperative fluid therapy in practice ................................................................................................................ 54
6. Clinical evaluation of the effectiveness of fluid replacement ........................................................................... 54
7. Tools of volume correction: injections, cannulas, tubes ................................................................................... 55
8. Types of injection techniques ................................................................................................................................. 56
8.1. Intracutaneous (ic.) injection .................................................................................................................. 56
8.2. Subcutaneous (sc.) injection .................................................................................................................. 56
8.3. Intramuscular (im.) injection ................................................................................................................ 56
8.4. Intravenous (iv.) injection ..................................................................................................................... 57

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS
9. Complications of injections ................................................................................................................................... 57
10. About veins in details ............................................................................................................................................ 57
10.1. Technique of blood sampling............................................................................................................... 58
10.2. Infusions ................................................................................................................................................. 59
10.3 Infusion pumps (IP) ............................................................................................................................... 61
10.4. Central venous catheterization, venasection, venous cut-down .................................................... 61

VII. Bleeding and hemostasis in surgery .....................................................................................63
1.
2.
3.
4.

Hemostasis ............................................................................................................................................................... 63
Main types of hemorrhage .................................................................................................................................... 63
Clinical classification ............................................................................................................................................. 63
Direction of hemorrhage ....................................................................................................................................... 64
4.1. Gastrointestinal hemorrhage ................................................................................................................. 64
4.2. Causes of gastrointestinal hemorrhage................................................................................................ 64
5. Preoperative – intraoperative – postoperative hemorrhage ............................................................................. 64
6. Surgical hemostasis ................................................................................................................................................ 65
6.1. Historical background ............................................................................................................................ 65
6.2. Mechanical methods – temporary and final interventions .............................................................. 65
6.3. Thermal methods .................................................................................................................................... 66
6.4. Chemical-biological methods ............................................................................................................... 67
7. Intraoperative diffuse bleeding ............................................................................................................................. 68
7.1. Main causes............................................................................................................................................... 68
7.2. Management of intraoperative diffuse bleeding ................................................................................. 68
8. Replacement of blood in surgery (for details, see transfusiology) ...................................................... 68
8.1. Historical background ............................................................................................................................ 68
8.2. Auto(logous) transfusion ....................................................................................................................... 68
8.2.1. Preoperative autologous donation = predeposit transfusion ........................................ 68
8.2.2. Blood salvage ........................................................................................................................ 69
8.2.3. Autotransfusion – adjuvant therapy ................................................................................. 69
8.3. Artificial blood......................................................................................................................................... 69
9. Postoperative bleeding ........................................................................................................................................... 69
10. Local signs and symptoms of incomplete hemostasis ..................................................................................... 69
11. General symptoms of incomplete hemostasis .................................................................................................. 69

VIII. Hemorrhagic shock .............................................................................................................70
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

General remarks ...................................................................................................................................................... 70
Types of shock ......................................................................................................................................................... 70
The essential patterns of circulatory shock ......................................................................................................... 70
Anamnesis of shock ................................................................................................................................................ 70
Compensatory mechanisms after blood loss ...................................................................................................... 70
5.1. Baroreceptor reflex .................................................................................................................................. 70
5.2. Chemoreceptors....................................................................................................................................... 71
5.3. Endogenous vasoconstrictors ................................................................................................................ 71
5.4. Brain ischemia ......................................................................................................................................... 71
5.5. Changes in renal water metabolism ..................................................................................................... 71
5.6. Reabsorption of tissue fluids (“fluid shift”).......................................................................................... 71
6. Decompensatory mechanisms after blood loss .................................................................................................. 71
6.1. Cardiac failure.......................................................................................................................................... 71
6.2. Acidosis ..................................................................................................................................................... 72
6.3. Central nervous system depression ...................................................................................................... 72
6.4. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) ................................................................................. 72
6.5. Reticuloendothelial system dysfunction ............................................................................................. 72
7. Stages of hemorrhagic shock ................................................................................................................................. 72
7.1. Compensated shock ................................................................................................................................. 72
7.2. Decompensated shock ............................................................................................................................ 72
7.2.1. Main microcirculatory phases during decompensation: ............................................................... 72
7.3. Irreversible shock ..................................................................................................................................... 73
8. Signs of progressing shock .................................................................................................................................... 73
9. Ischemia-reperfusion injury .................................................................................................................................. 73
10. Intestinal mucosa injury ...................................................................................................................................... 73
11. Shock diagnosis ..................................................................................................................................................... 73
12. Relationship between mortality and time elapsed from injury to therapy.................................................. 73
13. Treatment of hemorrhagic shock........................................................................................................................ 73
14. Signs of cardiovascular stabilization ................................................................................................................. 75
15. Medical – legal pitfalls ......................................................................................................................................... 75
16. Variations in physiological responses to hemorrhagic shock ........................................................................ 75

6

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

TABLE OF CONTENTS
IX. Wounds .................................................................................................................................. 76

1. Classification of accidental wounds ..................................................................................................................... 76
1.1. Morphology / classification depending on the penetration route.................................................... 76
1.2. Classification according to “cleanliness” – bacterial contamination .............................................. 76
1.3. Classification depending on the time since the trauma .................................................................... 77
1.4. Classification depending on the number of skin layers involved .................................................... 77
1.5. Classification depending on the factors affecting wound healing ................................................... 77
1.6. Classification depending on wound closure ....................................................................................... 78
2. Surgical wounds ...................................................................................................................................................... 78
2.1. Determinants of healing of surgical wounds ...................................................................................... 78
2.2. Skin incision............................................................................................................................................. 78
2.3. The requirements of skin incision ........................................................................................................ 78
2.4. Main types of skin incisions (see details later) ................................................................................... 79
2.5. Closure of surgical wounds ................................................................................................................... 79
3. Early complications of wound closure (See also sections I.4 and V.7.2.2.2) .................................................. 79
4. Late complications of wound closure .................................................................................................................. 80
5. Prevention of wound infection ............................................................................................................................. 80
6. Signs of wound infections...................................................................................................................................... 80
7. Phases of wound healing ........................................................................................................................................ 80
8. Wound healing disorders ...................................................................................................................................... 81
9. Wound management of accidental wounds ........................................................................................................ 81
10. Dressing – bandaging ........................................................................................................................................... 84
10.1. Types of bandages .................................................................................................................................. 84
10.2. Layers of bandages ................................................................................................................................ 85
10.3. Types of bandages.................................................................................................................................. 85
11. Innovations in wound treatment ........................................................................................................................ 87
11.1. Lucilia sericata, Phaenicia sericata (greenbottles)............................................................................ 87
11.2. Vacuum-assisted closure therapy......................................................................................................... 87
11.3. Biological dressings ............................................................................................................................... 87
11.3.1. Human skin ......................................................................................................................... 87
11.3.2. Xenogenous skin ................................................................................................................ 87
11.3.3. Skin supplements................................................................................................................ 87
11.3.4. Biosynthetic materials (cultured tissues) ....................................................................... 87
11.4. “Wet wound healing” ............................................................................................................................ 87

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES, 2 – ADVANCED MEDICAL SKILLS ............................................89
Preface ..........................................................................................................................................90
I. Laparotomy ............................................................................................................................... 91
1. History of abdominal surgery ................................................................................................................................ 91
2. Technical background of laparotomies ............................................................................................................... 91
3. Basic principles determining the type of laparotomy ....................................................................................... 91
4. Recapitulation: Anatomy of the abdominal wall ............................................................................................... 92
5. Principles of healing of laparotomy ..................................................................................................................... 92
6. Prevention of wound complications .................................................................................................................... 92

II. Incisions ...................................................................................................................................93

1. Longitudinal incisions ........................................................................................................................................... 93
1.1. Characteristics of longitudinal incisions ............................................................................................. 93
2. Oblique incisions .................................................................................................................................................... 93
2.1. The basic type of oblique incisions ....................................................................................................... 93
3. Transverse incisions ............................................................................................................................................... 94
3.1. Basic characteristics of transverse incisions ........................................................................................ 94
4. Special extraperitoneal incisions for staging ...................................................................................................... 94

III. Laparotomy in surgical training ...........................................................................................95

1. General rules ............................................................................................................................................................ 95
2. Middle median laparotomy ................................................................................................................................... 95
3. Some important details .......................................................................................................................................... 97

IV. Basic surgical procedures on the intestines. Appendectomy ................................................98
1. The history of appendectomy ................................................................................................................................ 98
1.1. Recapitulation: relevant anatomy.......................................................................................................... 98
1.2. Open appendectomy ............................................................................................................................... 98

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

7

TABLE OF CONTENTS
V. Anastomoses .......................................................................................................................... 101

1. Healing of the anastomosis................................................................................................................................... 101
2. Causes of anastomosis insufficiency .................................................................................................................. 101
3. The characteristics of a good technique ........................................................................................................... 101
4. Complications ....................................................................................................................................................... 101
5. Anastomosis techniques ...................................................................................................................................... 101
5.1. Two-layered anastomosis technique ................................................................................................... 101
5.2. Single-layered technique ...................................................................................................................... 102
5.3. Stapler-made anastomosis .................................................................................................................... 102
6. Surgical techniques of intestinal anastomoses ................................................................................................. 102
7. Closure of enterotomy .......................................................................................................................................... 102
8. Surgical unification of bowel segments by end-to-end anastomosis ............................................................ 103

VI. Abdominal drainage ............................................................................................................ 104

1. Historical background of invasive diagnostic procedures ............................................................................. 104
2. Indication of diagnostic peritoneal lavage ........................................................................................................ 104
2.1. Open system ........................................................................................................................................... 104
2.2. Closed system ........................................................................................................................................ 104
3. Therapeutic (chronic) lavage: peritoneal dialysis............................................................................................. 104
4. Therapeutic (postoperative) rinsing drainage(see the basics in section IV.10) ........................................... 105

VII. Basic thoracic surgical practicals ....................................................................................... 106

1. Types of pleural effusion ...................................................................................................................................... 106
2.1. Mechanism/causes of thoracic effusion formation .......................................................................... 106
2.2. General principles of treatment .......................................................................................................... 106
3. Hemothorax ........................................................................................................................................................... 106
3.1. Treatment of hemothorax..................................................................................................................... 106
4. Pneumothorax (PTX) .......................................................................................................................................... 106
4.1. Etiology of PTX...................................................................................................................................... 107
4.2. Clinical signs of PTX ............................................................................................................................ 107
4.3. Types of PTX .......................................................................................................................................... 107
4.4. Closed PTX ............................................................................................................................................ 107
4.5. Open PTX .............................................................................................................................................. 107
4.5.1. Signs of open PTX .............................................................................................................. 107
4.5.2. Treatment of open PTX ................................................................................................... 107
4.6. Tension PTX........................................................................................................................................... 108
4.7. Signs and symptoms of tension PTX .................................................................................................. 108
5. Treatment of PTX ................................................................................................................................................ 108
5.1. Basic questions ....................................................................................................................................... 108
5.2. Treatment of simple PTX ..................................................................................................................... 108
5.3. Treatment of simple PTX with needle thoracocentesis ................................................................... 108
5.4. Emergency needle decompression ...................................................................................................... 109
5.5. Percutaneous thoracocentesis for the treatment of PTX................................................................. 109
5.6. Chest drain – chest tubes ..................................................................................................................... 109
6. Chest drainage system ......................................................................................................................................... 110
6.1. Indications .............................................................................................................................................. 110
6.2. Types......................................................................................................................................................... 110
7. Flail chest ................................................................................................................................................................ 111
8. Cardiac tamponade................................................................................................................................................ 111

VIII. Tracheostomy .................................................................................................................... 113
1.
2.
3.
4.

States evoking mechanical respiratory insufficiency....................................................................................... 113
States evoking functional respiratory failure/insufficiency ........................................................................... 113
Advantages of intubation and tracheostomy .................................................................................................... 113
The surgical technique of intubation – preparation of an upper tracheostomy ......................................... 113

IX. Basics of minimally invasive surgery .................................................................................. 114
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

8

A brief history of minimally invasive surgery .................................................................................................. 114
Present status of minimally invasive surgery ................................................................................................... 114
Advantages of minimal access surgery.............................................................................................................. 114
The technical background of minimally invasive techniques. The laparoscopic tower ............................ 115
4.1. Endoscopes ............................................................................................................................................. 115
4.2. Diathermy .............................................................................................................................................. 115
4.3. Suction and irrigation........................................................................................................................... 116
Physiology of laparoscopy. The pneumoperitoneum ...................................................................................... 116
5.1. Complications of pneumoperitoneum ............................................................................................... 116
Basic instruments for minimally invasive surgery .......................................................................................... 117
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy ............................................................................................................................ 118
Laparoscopic appendectomy ............................................................................................................................... 118
Training in a box-trainer ..................................................................................................................................... 119

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS

I. Asepsis and antisepsis
“A man laid on an operating table in one of our surgical
hospitals is exposed to more chances of death than was
an English soldier on the battlefield of Waterloo”
(Sir James Simpson: Hospitalism: its effects on the
results of surgical operations. In: Edinburgh Med J, 1869).

of ether on himself in Vienna and then together with János Balassa he performed the first operation involving
the use of ether narcosis on February 8, 1847, in Budapest (the creation of the first Hungarian medical periodical Medical Weekly Journal (1857) and the Hungarian Medical Publishing Company (in 1863) were also
among the merits of Markusovszky).

1. Historical overview
19th century surgery was faced with four classical difficulties: pain, infection, obsolete technology and the
enigmatic pathophysiological changes of the perioperative period. By the end of the “century of surgeons”,
three of these problems had been solved, and modern
clinical surgery has been born.
The first milestone was reached on October 16,
1846, in Boston, when a patient of John Collins Warren (1778–1856) was successfully narcotized with ether
by William Morton (1819–1868). According to the inscription in the Ether Dome of the Massachusetts Memorial Hospital: “On October 16, 1846, in this hall, the
former operating theatre occurred the first public demonstration of narcosis, which resulted in analgesia during
a major surgical intervention. Aether sulfuricus was applied by William Thomas Green Morton, a dentist from
Boston. Gilbert Abbot was the patient and a neoplasm of
the jaw was removed by John Collins Warren. The patient
declared that he did not feel any pain and he was emitted
whole on December 7. This discovery has spread from this
room and opened a new era for surgery.”

John Collins Warren (1778–1856) and William Morton (1819–1868)

Within some weeks, on December 21, 1846, Robert Liston (1794–1847) applied ether narcosis in London
and James Simpson soon introduced chloroform narcosis (On a new anaesthetic agent, more efficient than Sulphuric Ether. Lancet, 21 November 21, 1847: 549-550).
Hungary kept in line with the progress: on January 25,
1847, Lajos Markusovszky (1815–1893) tested the effects

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

Lajos Markusovszky (1815–1893) and János Balassa (1814–1868)

Narcosis quickly became a relatively safe and generally accepted method of surgery. In 1893, Vilmos Vajna
reported on the 3-year statistics of the German Surgical Society; 3098 cases were anesthetized, with only one
death.
The initial attempts to prevent wound infection were
by no means so successful. Surgical incisions were still
followed by irritative fever, which sometimes lasted for
only a few days and were accompanied by pus bonum
et laudabile (good and commendable pus, sec. Galen),
but even the most brilliant surgeons had to take into
account the possibility of fatal postoperative infection.
The terms “hospitalism” and “hospital gangrene” were
used to denote postoperative infections. The frequency of these infections is well demonstrated by the incidence of puerperal fever (childbed fever): the average
death rate in the First Department of Obstetrics at the
Allgemeines Krankenhaus in Vienna was 9.92%, but on
occasion the incidence was as high as 29.3% (in October 1842). At that time the mortality rate in hospitals in
Edinburgh and Glasgow averaged around 40%, and in
Paris it was as high as 59%.
In the 1840s, Ignác Semmelweis (1818–1865), a Hungarian obstetrician and Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809–
1894) an American anatomist, came closest to verifying
the causes. Finally, Semmelweis unequivocally identified
that decomposing organic matter on the doctors’ hands
propagated infection, leading to the spread of puerperal
fever, e.g. sepsis. On May 15 (?), 1847, Semmelweis introduced compulsory hand-washing with chlorinated lime.
He issued a directive: “All students and doctors who enter the wards for the purpose of making an examination
must thoroughly wash and scrub their fingers and hands

9

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
in the solution of chlorinated lime placed in basins at the
entrance to the wards. One disinfection is sufficient for
one visit, but between the examinations of each patient
the hands must be washed with soap and water. Semmelweis”. In May 1847, the mortality from puerperal fever
was still 14.5% whereas in August, following the institution of these measures, it was 1.2%.
Before the era of bacteriology this was a stroke of genius. Semmelweis had proved the effectiveness of asepsis, but the adverse circumstances prevented the rapid
spread of his theory and his discovery did not become
generally known.

Ignác Semmelweis (1818–1865) Die Aetiologie, der Begriff und die
Prophylaxis des Kindbettfiebers (1861)

1. “After it has been determined that the pathogenic organism is present in the animal body,
2. and after it has been shown that the organism can reproduce in the body,
3. and be transmitted from one individual to another,
the most important experiment remains to be done…
4. to determine the conditions necessary for growth
and reproduction of the microorganism.”
In a further substantial step, Ernst von Bergmann (1836–
1907) introduced sublimate antisepsis (1887) and steam
sterilization (1886), and Curt Schimmelbusch (1850–
1895) then initiated aseptic wound management. At the
end of the 1880s, Lister realized that the treatment of
wounds with antiseptics has a disadvantageous effect on
wound healing. Furthermore, it was shown that the effects of chemicals are only superficial: they are not able
to kill bacteria in the deep tissues. Lister later admitted
that the aseptic method elaborated by the German school
of surgeons was more advantageous than his own.
Surgical gloves were invented by William S. Halsted,
chief surgeon at the Johns Hopkins University (1852–
1922). In 1890, Halsted requested the Goodyear Rubber Company to prepare thin rubber gloves for the head
scrub nurse (his later wife), Caroline Hampton, who suffered from dermatitis caused by the disinfectants. Joseph C. Bloodgood (1867–1935) who succeeded Halsted,
used these gloves routinely from 1896, and the method
proved to decrease not only the incidence of dermatitis,
but also the number of postoperative wound infections.

At the beginning of the 1860s Louis Pasteur (1822–
1895) elaborated the “germ theory” (his motto was
“chance prefers the prepared mind”). Then, twenty years
after Semmelweis, Sir Joseph Lister (1827–1912), a Scottish surgeon described the method of wound disinfection. In the operating theatre Lister sprayed carbolic acid
(phenol) onto the instruments, onto the hands of the surgeon and also onto the wound, to kill microorganisms.
His publication in 1867 set the trend of antisepsis (On the
Antiseptic Principle in the Practice of Surgery, Lancet).

William S. Halsted (1852–1922)

2. Asepsis and antisepsis in
surgical practice
Sir Joseph Lister (1827–1912) and the first antiseptic operation

In 1881, Robert Koch (1843–1910) reported postulates whereby it became possible to verify that infectious
diseases are caused by living microorganisms, i.e. bacteria:

10

During surgery, the body’s major defense against infection, the skin is broken and the inner surfaces of the
body are exposed to the environment. Every attempt
must therefore be made to prevent bacteria from entering the wound (asepsis) and to eliminate them if they
have already entered (antisepsis).

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I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
Definition of asepsis
Asepsis covers all those procedures designed to reduce
the risk of bacterial (or other, e.g. fungal or viral) contamination, e.g. through the use of sterile instruments
and the gloved “no touch” technique. They include all
of those prophylactic methods, working processes and
behavioral forms by which microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and viruses) can be kept away from the patient’s organism and the surgical wound. The goal of
asepsis is to prevent contamination. Asepsis can be ensured by the use of sterile devices, materials and instruments and by creating an environment that is poor
in microbes.
Definition of antisepsis
Antisepsis relates to the removal of transient microorganisms from the skin and a reduction in the resident flora. Techniques may be applied to eliminate
contamination (bacterial, viral, fungal and others)
present on objects and skin by means of sterilization
and disinfection. Living surfaces, the skin, the operating field and the surgeon’s hands can not be considered sterile.
In a wider sense, asepsis concerns an ideal state, in
which the instruments, the skin and the surgical wound
are free from pathogenic germs, while antisepsis includes all those prophylactic procedures designed to ensure surgical asepsis. Asepsis is what is primarily important. Asepsis is primary prevention.
Definition of sterility
Sterility is a microbiologically germ-free state of materials and items. This means that they are free from all
kinds of pathogenic and apathogenic microorganisms,
including latent and resting forms, such as spores.

rather paradoxical that, 150 years after the discoveries
by Semmelweis and Lister the incidence of nosocomial
infections is currently increasing.
The infection of wounds (surgical site infection;
SSI) is one of the main manifestations of nosocomial infections. In the US, it occurs in approximately
14–16% of the cases and SSI contributes to 77% of the
cases of mortality among surgical patients. On the average, SSI increases the relative risk of death 2.2-fold
and extends the hospitalization period by 5–15 days.
When all surgical complications are considered, the
average incidence of SSI is 1–3%, but in colon surgery
the level may reach 10%. As nosocomial infections
are a source of great expense to the patient, the surgeon, the health care system and the society, an understanding of the etiology and pathomechanism is
of the utmost importance.

Staphylococcus aureus (20%), Coagulase-negative staphylococcus (14%), Enterococcus (12%), Escherichia coli (8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8%), Enterobacter (7%), Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans, Bacteroides fragilis, and other
streptococci (2-3%). (Source: National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), 1996)

3. Surgical infections, sources
of wound contamination,
interventions
Disorders appearing during medical care (e.g. allergies against drugs) or caused by medication (e.g. complications of transfusion) are referred to as iatrogenic harms. They include iatrogenic infections (since the
Greek word iatros is linked to doctors and hospitalis
reminds us of hospitals, the medical profession uses the word nosocomial as an epithet). Nosocomial infections may be manifested in different forms. Some of
them are well defined and originate from a single microbiologic cause. However, in most cases a syndrome
evolves which is caused by many different pathogens.
Surgery is primarily affected by this problem. It is

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

The main cause of postoperative wound infections is the endogenous flora (skin: Staphylococci and
Streptococci; mouth: Staphylococci, Streptococci and
anaerobes; nasopharynx: Staphylococci, Streptococci,
Haemophilus and anaerobes; large bowel: Gram-negative rods, Enterococci and anaerobes; the urinary
tract is normally sterile). In direct wound infection,
the process is started by residual skin flora, dermal
infection, the surgeon’s hands or a contaminated device or bandage, or can be transmitted from drains
and intravenous catheters. Airborne infections originate from the skin and clothing of other patients and
the staff and from the airflow in the hospital room or
operating theater. In the case of hematogenic propagation, intravenous devices or a septic process in
distant anatomical regions can be the source of SSI
(Leaper DJ: Risk factors for surgical infection. J Hosp
Infect, 1999).

11

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS

4. Types of surgical wound
contaminations and their
classification
Criteria for defining an SSI as superficial
1. Infection occurs within 30 days after an operation.
2. The infection involves only the skin and the subcutaneous tissue adjacent to the incision.
3. At least one of the following is present:
 a purulent discharge from the surgical site,
 at least one of the signs and symptoms of infection (pain, tenderness, localized swelling, redness
or heat),
 spontaneous dehiscence of the wound or deliberate opening of the wound by the surgeon (unless
the culture results from the site are negative),
 an abscess or evidence of infection on direct examination or reoperation, or histopathologic or
radiological examination,
 diagnosis of infection by a surgeon or attending
physician.
Deep incisional SSI
These infections involve deep tissues, such as the fascial and muscle layers. They include infections involving both superficial and deep incision sites and organ/
space SSIs draining through incisions. Criteria:
1. They occur within 30 days after surgery with no implant (up to 1 year after surgery if an implant is left
in place),
2. The infections involve deep soft tissues, fascia and
muscle layers,
3. At least one of the following:
 Purulent drainage/organism isolated from an
aseptically obtained culture.
 Fascial dehiscence or deliberate opening of the
fascia by a surgeon due to signs of inflammation.
 An abscess or other evidence of infection noted
below the fascia during reoperation, radiological
examination or histopathology.
 A surgeon declares that a deep incisional infection is present.
Organ/space SSI
These infections involve any part of the anatomy, in organs and spaces other than the incision, which was
opened or manipulated during operation. Criteria needed for the diagnosis:
1. The infection occurs within 30 days after surgery or
within 1 year if an implant is present and the infection seems related to the operation.
2. The infection involves a joint/organ/space, or anatomic structures opened or manipulated during the
operation.

12

3. At least one of the following:
 Purulent drainage from a drain placed into the
organ/space.
 An organism is isolated from a culture sample obtained aseptically from joint fluid or deep tissue.
 An abscess or other evidence of infection involving a joint, organ or space during reoperation, radiological examination or histopathology.
 A diagnosis of an organ/space SSI by a surgeon.

5. Prevention of wound
contamination
Analysis of the potential sources of infection reveals the
following origins of causative agents:
 patients waiting for operation;
 members of the operating team;
 the operating theater (e.g. air, air conditioning, water, etc.);
 devices for operation (e.g. drapes, threads, bandages, etc.).
Rules of asepsis must be kept in connection with all
of the above factors as this is the only way to prevent
wound infections.
Before the operation
 A careful scrub and preparation of the operative site
(cleansing and removal of hair) is necessary.
 Knowledge and control of risk factors (e.g. normalization of the serum glucose level in cases of diabetes mellitus, etc.).
Perioperative
antimicrobial prophylaxis (e.g. antibi
otics) in high-risk patients.
During the operation
 Appropriate surgical techniques must be applied
(gentle tissue preparation, exact handling of bleedings, use of absorbable sutures, etc.).

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
 Change of gloves and rescrub if necessary.
 Normal body temperature must be maintained. Narcosis may worsen the thermoregulation. Hypothermia and general anesthesia both induce vasodilatation, and thus the core temperature will decrease.
 The oxygen tension must be maintained and hyperoxygenization should be applied if needed. Oxidative processes play an important role in protection
against pathogens. Reactive oxygen radicals (especially superoxide anions) are the frontline of defense
against surgery-associated pathogens. The activity of
the NADPH-linked oxidase of neutrophils is pO₂dependent (Km ~ 60 mmHg), and hypoxia therefore
transitionally decreases the killing activity of leukocytes.
After the operation
 SSI evolves shortly (within 2 h) after contamination.
 Hand washing is mandatory and the use of sterile
gloves is compulsory while handling wound dressings and changing bandages during the postoperative period.

6. Risk factors of wound
contamination
Systemic factors
These include age (the elderly or young children), undernourishment, obesity, hypovolemia, impaired tissue perfusion and steroid therapy. Diseases connected
to altered immune responses: diabetes mellitus, cirrhoses, uremia and immunosuppressed states are all risk
factors. In the majority of these cases, the surgical intervention should be performed exclusively under aseptic circumstances in the sterile operating room. The
patients must usually be isolated, and hospitalized in
sterile rooms, with strict adherence to the rules of asepsis. Wound management should be performed under
“operating room circumstances”.
Factors related to the wound
These may be dead or devitalized tissue left in the
wound, a hematoma, foreign bodies, including drains,
sutures, dead space, improper skin scrubbing, disinfection and shaving, or a previously existing infection (local or distant).
Factors related to the operation
These include an incorrect surgical technique, inadequate handling of bleeding, long-lasting surgical interventions (longer than 2 h); intraoperative infections,
nonsterile operating room personnel, instruments, improper air-exchange, hypothermia, and a long preoperative stay (hospitalization).

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

Factors related to the type of the operation
The risk factor may be the type of the operation itself,
as in certain operations the risk of wound contamination is higher than average. Surgical wounds can be categorized according to the level of wound contamination
as clean, clean–contaminated, contaminated and dirtyinfected groups.
Classification Description
An uninfected operative
wound without acute inflammation and closed primarily.
Clean
Respiratory, gastrointestinal,
biliary and urinary tracts not
(Class I)
entered. No break in the aseptic technique. A closed drainage is used if necessary.
Elective opening of respiratory, biliary, gastrointestinal or
Cleanurinary tracts and with minicontaminated mal spillage.
No evidence of infection or
(Class II)
major break in the aseptic
technique. Example: appendectomy.
Non-purulent inflammation is
present.
Contaminated Gross spillage from gastrointestinal tract. Penetrating trau(Class III)
matic wounds < 4 h.
Major break in the aseptic
technique.
Purulent inflammation is presDirtyent.
infected
Preoperative perforation of
viscera.
(Class IV)
Penetrating traumatic wounds
> 4 h.

Infection
risk [%]

<2

< 10

Approx.
20

Approx.
40

Source: CDC, 1996

7. Postoperative wound
management
The decisive factor is the rigorous maintenance of the
rules of asepsis:
 the primarily closed wound is covered with sterile
covering bandage for 48 h;
 hygienic hand washing before and after the wound
management is mandatory;
 a sterile technique must be applied during change of
the covering bandage.

13

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS

8. Sterilization, elimination and
inactivation of pathogens
Definition: this involves the removal of viable microorganisms (pathogenic and apathogenic microorganisms, including latent and resting forms such as spores),
which can be achieved by different physical and chemical means and methods or by their combined effects,
in killing or inactivating all living microorganisms and
their latent and resting forms.
Autoclaves
Autoclaves are highly effective and inexpensive tools of
sterilization. Their effectiveness is based on the fact that
the temperature of steam under pressure exceeds 100 °C.
At 108 kPa, it is 121 °C (vacuum has to be created). When
the pressure is 206 kPa, the temperature of steam is 134 °C.
The time needed for sterilization at 121 °C is 20 min and at
134 °C is 10 min. To be effective against viruses and spore
forming bacteria the steam must be in direct contact with
the materials. The effectiveness can be checked via the color
change of the indicator tape placed on the packing. Disadvantage: autoclaves are unsuitable for heat-sensitive objects.
Gas sterilization by ethylene oxide
This agent is highly penetrative and active against bacteria, spores and viruses. It is suitable for heat-sensitive
items. Disadvantages: it is flammable, toxic and expensive, and leaves toxic residues on sterilized items. Accordingly, instruments sterilized in this way need to be stored
for a prolonged period before use (airing is needed).
Sporicidal chemicals – cold sterilization
Sporicidal chemicals are often used as disinfectants, but
can also sterilize instruments if utilized for a prolonged
period. The advantages of these methods are that they
are inexpensive and suitable for heat-sensitive items. The
disadvantages are that they are toxic and irritants. The
most widely used liquid sporicidal chemical is 2% glutaraldehyde (Cidex). It is able to kill most bacteria and
viruses within 10 min (spores can survive for 3 h).
Irradiation
Gamma rays and accelerated electrons are excellent for
sterilization. They are mostly used for industrial purposes, e.g. the sterilization of disposable items (plastic
syringes and needles) and materials (bandages) rather
than sterilization in hospitals.

9. Disinfection
Definition: this is the reduction of the number of viable microorganisms by destroying or inactivating them
on living or inanimate (nonliving) surfaces. It can be

14

achieved with chemicals (disinfectants) such as glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, quaternary detergents, etc.
Some of these disinfectants are sporicidal, but they
should generally not be used for sterilization because
most items need a very long time (up to 10 h or more) of
soaking in order to render them sterile.
Low-temperature steam
Most bacteria and viruses are killed by exposure to
moist heat. This is usually achieved with dry saturated
steam at 73 °C, applied for more than 10 min. This procedure is effective, reliable and suitable for instruments
with a lumen. It is unsuitable for heat-sensitive items.
Chemical disinfectants
These are suitable for heat-sensitive items, but are less
effective than heat. The goal is to destroy microorganisms by chemical or physicochemical means. Different
organisms vary in their sensitivity to them:
 Gram-positive bacteria are highly sensitive.
 Gram-negative bacteria are relatively resistant.
 Clostridial and Mycobacterial species are very resistant.
 Slow viruses are highly resistant.
The use of antiseptics (their application, making the
solutions, their effective concentration, the time needed for the effective disinfection of the different chemicals, etc.) is strictly regulated in official guidelines (see
“Handout of disinfection and disinfectants” by the Hungarian National Health Center). The chemicals used include clear soluble phenolics, hypochlorites, alcohols
and quaternary ammonium compounds.

10. Asepsis
Asepsis (in a wider sense) has become a fully elaborated
routine procedure. The rules of asepsis must be maintained as concerns the patient, the operating room personnel, the operating theater, the operating room devices, the tools and the instruments. Surgical asepsis
demands strict precautions, while working in a sterile
field presupposes the understanding that violation of
the technical rules may cause fatal infections.

10.1. Preparation of the skin
before the operation
The skin harbors resident flora (these bacteria cause no
harm unless drawn into the body through a break in the
skin, e.g. Staphylococcus epidermidis) and transient flora (acquired from a contaminated source); the latter includes any type of bacterium that can live on the skin.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
Bathing
It is not unequivocal that bathing lowers the germ count
of the skin, but as regards elective surgery preoperative
antiseptic showers/baths are compulsory. Special attention is paid to the operative site. This should be bathed
with antiseptic soap (chlorhexidine or quaternol) the
evening prior the operation.
Shaving
This makes the surgery, the suturing and the dressing removal easier. It must be done immediately prior to the operation, with the least possible cuticular/
dermal injury; in this case, the wound infection rate is
only 1%. The infection rate rises to > 5% if shaving is
performed more than 12 h prior to the surgery (abrasions can cause colonization, which can lead to wound
infection). Clippers or depilatory creams reduce infection rates to < 1%.
Preparation of the skin
This is performed immediately before the operation.
Disinfectants are applied to the skin:
 70% isopropanol (this acts by denaturing proteins; it
is a bactericidal) short-acting;
0.5%
chlorhexidine (a quaternary ammonium com
pound, which acts by disrupting the bacterial cell
wall, it is bactericidal, but does not kill spore-forming organisms; it is persistent, with a long duration
of action (up to 6 h), and is more effective against
Gram-positive organisms);
 70% povidone–iodine (Betadine, which acts by oxidation/substitution of free iodine; it is bactericidal
and active against spore-forming organisms; it is effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, it is rapidly inactivated by organic
material such as blood; patient skin sensitivity is occasionally a problem).
Surgical disinfectants can also be grouped according to color (e.g. Betadine, Kodan gefärbt, etc.) or colorless (e.g. Kodan farblos). The advantage of color is that
the prepared area is visible, while colorless compounds
are used when observation of the skin’s own color is important (e.g. discerning the differences between necrotic and viable tissues).

10.2. Disinfection and scrubbing of
the skin before the operation
 This is performed after the surgical hand scrub
and before dressing (gowning, i.e. putting on sterile gowns). All supplies used (towels, gauze sponges,
sponge forceps and gloves) must be sterile.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

 Scrubbing is performed outward from the incision
site and concentrically (see later). The prepped/disinfected area must be large enough for the lengthening of the incision / insertion of a drain.
 The classical method: 1. removal of the fat from the
skin surface with petrol (twice); 2. antiseptic paint
(1–5% iodine tincture) is applied twice immediately.
 The skin prep must be performed in accordance with
the accepted and generally applied rules of the operating
room. Currently, only antiseptic paint is applied (usually
povidone-iodine) at least twice (but usually three times),
alcoholic solutions (e.g. Dodesept) could be used in the
case of sensitive skin, applied with sterile sponges (gauze
balls) mounted in a sponge-holding clamp.
 In aseptic surgical interventions the procedure starts
in the line of the planned incision, while in septic, infected operations it starts from the periphery toward
the planned area of the operation. Washing with antiseptics is begun at the exact location where the incision will be made, moving outward in a circular motion. A “no touch” technique is used. An area already
washed is not returned to with the same sponge.
 The disinfectant collections in body folds must be
sponged up after the skin-scrubbing procedure in
order to avoid skin inflammation and burns.

10.3. Isolation of the operating area
(draping)
 After the skin preparation, the disinfected operating
area must be isolated from the nondisinfected skin
surfaces and body areas by the application of sterile linen textile (muslin) or sterile water-proof paper
(nonwoven) drapes and other sterile accessories/supplements. The isolation prevents contamination originating from the patient’s skin. Draping is performed
after the surgeon has donned gown and gloves.
The
use of sterile self-attaching synthetic adhesives

(affixed to the disinfected operating area) is questionable, because these can help residual bacteria
come to the surface, due to the increased perspiration during the operation.
 As the deeper layers of the disinfected skin always contain residual bacteria, the skin can not be
touched either by instruments or by hand.
The
isolation can be performed with disposable ster
ile sheets which are attached to each other where
they cross by self-attaching surfaces. Nondisposable, permeable linen textiles are fixed with special
Backhaus towel clips; usually four Backhaus clips
fix the sheets. In the draping routine, four towels are
placed around the immediate surgical site: this is the
“squaring-off ” (isolation) of the site.

15

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
 In general surgical operations (e.g. abdominal operations), the scrub nurse and the assistant carry out
the draping with the specially folded sheets. The first
sheet isolates the patient’s leg. The Mayo stand is then
moved to the end of the operating table. The second
sheet is used to isolate the patient’s head; this sheet is
fixed by a Jones or Schaedel towel-clip to the guard,
which shields the anesthesiologist from the operative
field. Placement of the two side-sheets then follows.
The
isolated area is always smaller then the scrubbed

area. After being placed on the patient, sheets can not
be moved toward the operating area, but only toward
the periphery, because pathogens can be transferred
from the nondisinfected parts to the surgical area.
 A special full sheet may be applied, too. This is positioned so that a hole incorporated in it lies over the
operative site.

11. Basic rules of asepsis
in the operating theater
 Only those people whose presence is absolutely necessary should stay in the operating room.
 Activity causing superfluous air flow (talking, laughing, sneezing and walking around) should be avoided. The atmosphere of the operating theater must
be quiet and peaceful; movement and talking are
kept to a minimum during surgery. Talking releases
droplets of moisture laden with harmful bacteria into the air around the sterile field.
Entry
into the operating theater is allowed only in

operating room attire and shoes worn exclusively
in the operating room. All clothing except the underwear must be changed. This complete change to
the garments used in the operating theater should
also apply for the patient placed in the holding area. Leaving the operating area in surgical attire is
forbidden.
The
doors of the operating room must be closed.

 Movement into the operating room out of the holding area is allowed only in a cap and mask covering
the hair, mouth and nose. If the mask becomes wet,
it should be replaced.

11.1. Personnel attire
in the operating room
 Strict personal hygiene is necessary for the operating
room personnel. Taking part in an operation is permitted only after surgical hand washing and scrub-

16









bing. The scrubbing person must not wear jewels.
Watches and rings should be removed. Fingernails
should be clean and short; nail polish is forbidden.
Surgical scrubbing must always be performed in accordance with the accepted and generally applied
rules of the local operating suite.
Surgical team members in sterile attire should keep
well within the sterile area; the sterile area is the
space that includes the patient, the surgical team
members, the sterile equipment tables and any other draped sterile equipment.
Non-scrubbed personnel should not come close to
the sterile field or the scrubbed sterile person, they
should not reach over sterile surfaces, and they
should handle only non-sterile instruments.
Scrubbed team members should always face each
other, and never show their backs to each other.
They should face the sterile field at all times.
Any airway infection or an open excreting wound
excludes participation in an operation.

12. Scrubbing, disinfection
and gowning in general
Scrub suit
In order to minimize the risk of infection, it is essential that the correct procedure should be followed before entry into the surgical suites and operating areas.
All personnel should wear scrub clothes. Surgical attire acts as a barrier that protects patients from exposure to microorganisms that could cause postoperative
infections. This barrier includes surgical gloves, caps,
masks, gowns, protective eyewear, waterproof aprons,
and sturdy footwear. They must all be the right size
and properly worn.
Surgical caps and face mask
The hair, mouth and respiratory tract are rich in bacteria. The cap should cover the hair completely. The mask
should be tied securely. It must be comfortable to wear,
as it will be worn throughout the procedure.
Masks are effective in preventing gross contamination from saliva during talking and coughing. Masks
should cover the nose and mouth, fitting snugly across
the bridge of the nose, at the edge of the cheeks, and
under the chin. Masks should be changed between
cases or when they become wet (usually from breath).
They should never be worn dangling around the neck.
Rubbing ordinary soap on glasses and polishing them
is the most satisfactory way to prevent fogging. Positioning of the mask:

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS

Correct

Wrong

The scrub preparation and surgical disinfection
 The surgical hand and arm scrub procedure must
be performed in the scrub suite before entry into
the surgical suite/operating room. To maintain the
asepsis, the hand and arm scrub is performed in accordance with the basic rules of asepsis.
 Hands can not be made sterile. The aim of the scrub
is to reduce the number of transient and resident
bacteria. The scrub eliminates the transient flora
of the skin and blocks the activity of most resident
germs located in the deeper layers. The disinfectant
forms a thin film layer on the skin, thereby hindering the resident bacteria from reaching the surface
from the crypts.

Participation in a surgical in-

The goal of scrubbing is to re-

tervention requires participa-

duce the quantity of transient

tion in the complete protocol

and resident bacterial flora and

of scrubbing and disinfection.

to inhibit its activity.

Scrubbing must be performed
in accordance with accepted
and generally applied rules of
the local surgical suite. Simple
scrubbing with ordinary soap is
NOT disinfection.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

 Traditionally, scrubbing is carried out as in the
Ahlfeld-Fürbinger 2-phase scrub. This consists of
mechanical cleansing with a brush for 5 min, and
rubbing with a disinfectant hand scrub agent for 5
× 1 min. Today, mechanical cleansing is restricted
to the nails.
 Mechanical cleaning is the first phase of scrubbing.
This first phase usually lasts for 3 min (5 min maximum).
 The second phase is disinfection. The most commonly used disinfectants include alcohol, phenol,
hexachlorophene, iodine or chlorhexidine. Examples of trademarks are Dodesept Hand, Promanum
N, Septoderm Hande, Skinman Intensive, Bradoderm, Spitaderm, Betadine, Betaisodona (iodine solution) and Sterillium (alcohol solution). 5 × 5 mℓ
should be used, each dose for 1 min.
Personnel
must enter the operating theatre imme
diately after the scrub. The arms should be flexed at
the elbow and the forearms should be up; the touching of nonsterile surfaces should be avoided.
The mechanical phase in detail
 Remove watch, rings, bracelets, etc.
 Cut the nails if necessary and clean the subungual
areas with a nail file.
 Turn on the tap and adjust the water to an appropriate temperature and flow rate.
 Wash the hands and forearms thoroughly with
liquid or foam soap. Rub each side of each finger, between the fingers, and the back and palm
of the hands with soap. After the hands have been
scrubbed, the arms are scrubbed. Rub the soap on
each side of the forearm from the wrist to the elbow to at least 3 finger-breadths above the elbow,
keeping the hand higher than the arm at all times.
This prevents bacteria-laden soap and water from
contaminating the hand. If at any time the hand
touches anything nonsterile object, the scrub must
be lengthened by 1 min for the area that has been
contaminated.
 Rinse the hands and arms with water, keeping the
hands above the level of the elbows, and allow the
water to drain off the elbows.
 Take a sterile brush in one hand and the soap in the
opposite one. Make a good lather on the brush and
brush the nails and finger tips only. The brushing of
any other part of the hand is forbidden.
 Finish the scrubbing and put the brush aside.
 Rinse both hands and arms thoroughly with tap water. This rinsing must be thorough, because any soap
remaining on the skin may decrease or inhibit the effects of disinfectants.

17

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
Phases of scrubbing, 1.

Hygienic hand wash

Exposure of the sterile brushes...

and taking them

Phases of scrubbing, 2.

Disinfection in detail
 Keep the palm below the tubing of the dosing wallapparatus so that the hand is at the same level as the
eye of the photoelectric cell. Do not touch either the
apparatus or the tubing. If the hand is held properly, one dose of antiseptic will flow into the palm. The
hands and arms are rubbed thoroughly with the antiseptic for 1 min. Repeat the process 4 more times.
The
disinfected area should extend to one finger

under the elbow. The unwashed skin should not be
touched with the clean hands.
 This process should be repeated four times more,
but the affected area will be smaller and smaller. The
second time, the dividing line is three fingers under
the elbow; the third time, it is on the middle of the
forearm. The fifth dose is rubbed only in the hands.
If
the disinfectant contains alcohol, it must not be

rinsed. It is allowed to dry on the skin, in order to
form a film. This film blocks residual bacteria from
reaching the surface and it inactivates those which
possibly appear there. If the disinfectant contains
detergent, the scrub nurse gives a sterile towel with
which to dry the hands.
Phases of disinfection, 1.

Mechanical cleaning of the nails

Phases of scrubbing, 3.

Correct

Wrong

Phases of disinfection, 2.
Cleaning of the hands and nails with soap

Phases of scrubbing, 4.

Phases of rinsing

This is forbidden!

18

The gowning procedure
The scrubbed personnel enter the surgical suite immediately after the scrub. The hands are held above the elbows, in front of the chest. They go to the Schimmelbush
container which is on a stand, and open the cover with
the foot pedal. The further steps of gowning are as follows:
 Pick up a sterile gown with the right hand using the
left hand to prevent others from pulling out. The
gown is folded so that the inner surface is exposed
to you when you pick it up. If you are gowning yourself, grasp the gown firmly and bring it away from
the container. Never touch the outer surface.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
 Remain well away from nonsterile objects while
dressing, in order to allow a wide margin of safety.
 Hold the gown at the edges of the neck piece, away
from your body and the container, and sufficiently
high that it will not touch the floor.
 Holding the gown by the inside at the neckline, allow it to unfold gently, ensuring that the gown does
not come into contact with anything that is not sterile.
Gently
shake the folds from the gown and insert

both arms into the armholes, keeping your arms extended as you do so. Wait for the scrub nurse to assist you by pulling the gown up over the shoulders
and tying it.
 The assistant / scrub nurse stands at the back and
grasps the inner surface of the gown at each shoulder. The gown is pulled over the shoulders and the
sleeves up over the wrist. The scrub nurse assists you
by fastening the gown at the back.
 Meanwhile the cuffs of the gown can be adjusted. If
there is a band, use it to fix the cuff. The assistant
ties the bands at the back of the gown and the longer
bands at the waist as well. Do not try to give these
bands to the assistant, because you would risk touching a non-sterile person. The only exception is when
the bands on the waist are sewn on the front of the
gown. In this case you should cross your arms, grasp
the contralateral bands and keep them away from
you. The assistant then grasps and ties them without
touching the gown.

Unfolding the gown

Phases of gowning

Gowning procedure

Correct

Wrong

Tying of the gown, 1.

Handling of the sterile gown

Tying of the gown, 2.
Correct

Wrong

Pulling out the gown

Correct

Wrong

Tying of the gown, 3.

Forbidden
Wrong

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

19

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
Effective ”sterile” area

The gloved hands

Certain parts of the gown can
not be regarded as sterile (!)






the back and the armpits;
the areas lateral to the armpits;
below the waistline;
the sleeves above the elbow,
10 cm from the shoulders.

Gloving
 Surgical gloves are made of latex or hypoallergic materials. Gloving is assisted by a scrub nurse already
wearing a sterile gown and gloves. Surgical gloves
are packed and sterilized in paper bags.
 The sterile nurse holds the left hand glove open
with her fingers beneath the cuff so that her glove
does not come in contact with your skin. The
palm of the glove faces you. The sterile nurse
holds the left hand glove open with her fingers beneath the cuff so that her glove does not come in
contact with your skin. The palm of the glove faces you. Put two fingers of your right hand into the
opening; pull the inner side of the glove toward
you so that a wide opening is created. Slip your
left hand into the glove so that the glove cuff covers the sleeve cuff.
 When you put on the right hand glove, place the fingers of your gloved left hand under the right glove
cuff to widen the opening and thrust your right
hand into the glove.
 You may now adjust your gloves so that they fit comfortably on the hands.
Gloving of the left hand

Gloving of the right hand

20

To diminish friction between the skin and the glove,
sterile talcum powder is used. The gloves have been
lightly coated with powder. Powder entering into the
abdominal cavity may lead to adhesions. When you are
wearing a cap, a mask, a sterile gown and gloves, you are
ready to participate in the operation.
Removing gloves
When removing the gloves, you should touch only their
outer surface. In this way you can retain the cleanness
of your hands if you change gloves during operation
and protect yourself from infections. Grasp the cuff of
your dirty left-hand glove and pull it down to the middle of the palm so that it hangs down from your finger
in inside-out mode, and then repeat the process with
the other one. Now you can take off both gloves one at a
time without touching the dirty outer surfaces.
Removing the gloves

13. Personnel attire and movement in the operating room
 Sterile personnel should remain well within the
sterile area. Operating team members should move
about the suite as little as possible. Excessive movement leads to dust and air currents with the resulting spread of bacteria. Sterile team members face
each other and also face the sterile field. Their backs
are never turned toward the sterile field (it must be
remembered that the back of the gown should be
considered nonsterile).
 Hands must be kept within the sterile boundary of
the gown.
 Sterile hands must not touch the cap, the mask or the
nonsterile parts of the gown. Even spectacles must

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

I. ASEPSIS AND ANTISEPSIS
not be touched; a nonsterile assistant must be asked
to adjust them. You should use only sterile instruments and touch only sterile surfaces (e.g. the patient and the table covered with sterile sheets). Contact between sterile devices and objects of unknown
sterility involves the risk of contamination.
 You must not stretch out your hand to attempt to
catch falling instruments and you are not allowed
to pick them up. Do not take any instrument from
the instrument stand; ask the scrub nurse to give it
to you.

14. Basic rules of asepsis
in the operating room
 The operating room personnel must work in accordance with the rules of asepsis so as to ensure an
aseptic germ-free wound state.
 Sterile personnel can handle only sterile equipment.
 If the sterility of an item or a person is questionable,
this item or person is considered contaminated.
Sterile
tables are sterile at table height only.

Sterile
objects and surfaces in the air become un
avoidably contaminated after a while.
 Humid sterile surfaces become contaminated because of capillary activity (e.g. sterile package and
sheets become humid). This is called strikethrough
contamination.
 The edges of boxes and pots can not be considered
sterile. This means that the edge of any container
that holds sterile supplies is not sterile.
 The skin (e.g. the field of operation) can not be considered sterile; however, it is obligatory to apply
aseptic operating techniques.

15. Further important items
to ensure asepsis and to
avoid wound contamination
 During certain operations (e.g. after the opening
of the bowel) the gloves are presumably contaminated by pathogenic microorganisms and must be
changed. The gloves must also be replaced if they
become damaged during sustained operations, and
naturally between two operations. In the latter case,
repeated disinfection or a new scrubbing procedure
too is needed.

SURGICAL TECHNIQUES

 Potentially contaminated instruments must be
dropped at once into the waste bucket (e.g. scalpels
used to incise the skin or to open a bowel) and must
be replaced by new, sterile instruments.
 The surgical wound must be covered with a sterile
wound cover.
 Closed circuit drainage must be applied for the
drainage of oozing blood or confluent fluid collected
in the wound.
Easily
cleanable and sterilizable metal instruments

or disposable instruments and suture materials,
plastic cannulas, drains and vascular prostheses
must be used.
 Aseptic and septic operations must be separated in
both time and space, and particularly in time. Aseptic operations (e.g. hernia operations, thyroidectomy or varix operations) must be carried out in a sterile (aseptic) operating room, and septic operations
(colon surgery, appendectomy, hemorrhoidectomy
and fistulas) in a septic operating theater. If these can
not be separated spatially, aseptic operations must be
carried out first and the septic cases only later. After
these surgical interventions have been completed, the
operating theater must be cleaned up and disinfected.

16. Duties related to asepsis
in the postoperative period
 Bandages should be changed only when this is indicated.
Bandages
are changed first on aseptic patients.

 Bandages are changed with sterile instruments.
 Before and after bandage change hand washing is
mandatory with antiseptic soap and new sterile
gloves should be used for every case.

17. Surgical antisepsis
The basis of antisepis is the killing or inactivation of
pathogenic germs which have gained access to the
wound. This is much less effective than prophylaxis.
Antiseptic solutions (hydrogen peroxide or Betadine) or
powders (boric acid, etc.) can be used locally, or antibiotics can be applied locally or systemically. The prophylactic use of antibiotics is not indicated in clean cases (except when implantation is performed), whereas
in cases of contamination or dirty-infected operations
antibiotic prophylaxis or treatment is mandatory (see
Ministry of Health directives).

21

II. THE OPERATING ROOM

II. The operating room
1. Furniture, basic technical
background
 The operating complex consists of many areas:
dressing rooms, scrub suite, preparing rooms, and
operating theaters. The floor area of an operating
room is usually 50–70 square meters; it is well lighted and artificially ventilated. There is air-conditioning, and there is generally no window. The operating
complex must be architecturally separated from the
wards and intensive care unit.
 The temperature is normal ambient; the relative humidity is between 30% and 60%. In modern operating rooms, higher atmospheric pressure is created
by laminar air flow equipment, which makes a nonturbulent inflow of clean air. Air movement is from
clean to less clean areas.
 The walls are covered with tiles up to the ceiling,
and the floor is gap-free. The wall and floor are easy
to clean and disinfect.
 Doors are automatic. Personnel enter though a lock
system. The staff change clothes and wear surgical
attire and shoes worn exclusively in the operating
room, or shoe covers when entering.
 All items of furniture have wheels. The operating
room is supplied with a central or portable vacuum
system and pipes for gases (compressed air, oxygen
and narcotic gas).

2. Standard equipment
Operating lamp
This lamp provides cold, convergent light and can be
positioned in any required position. It is supplied with a
sterile handle via which the surgeon can himself adjust
the lamp during the operation.
Operating table
 This is fully adjustable for height and degree of tilt
in all directions; the surface is covered with a firm
pad that can be removed for cleaning. Many accessories are used to meet the needs of different types
of surgery. The table top is sectioned in several
places and may be reflexed or extended, or flexed
at one or more hinged sections. The table may be
tilted laterally or horizontally, and raised or lowered from its hydraulic base. Sections of the ta-

22

ble such as the headboard or footboard may be removed as needed.
 The position and height of the table are dictated by
the situation of the organ to be exposed and by the
surgeon’s comfort. The ideal height of the operating
table places the operative field approximately at the
level of the surgeon’s elbow when his arm is at his
side. Positioning is very important.
 For operations performed in the abdominal region
or under the umbilicus a pillow 10 cm in height
should be placed under the patient’s hip.
 A metal frame is to be found at the headboard of the
table for the fixation of isolation sheets. This “ether
screen” is a border, which separates the sterile surgical area and the nonsterile area of the anesthesiologists. It is strictly forbidden to lean an elbow on the
frame or to reach above it.
Small instrument stand (Mayo stand): This is a special
type of instrument table that is placed directly over (but
not in contact with) the patient’s leg. The most frequently used instruments are situated on it.
Back table (large instrument stand)
Extra supplies and additional instruments, except those
in immediate use, are located here during surgery.
Kick bucket
Soiled (spilled) sponges and some instruments, e.g. the
sponge-holding clamp used for the scrub preparation,
should be dropped into these containers at the side of
the table.
Anesthesia apparatus and other devices required by
the anesthesiologist
The anesthesiologist and the assistant take their places
behind the headboard of the operating table. They observe the patient throughout the operation. Major hemodynamic and vital parameters (e.g. blood pressure
(BP), heart rate (HR), cardiac output (CO), intravascular volume, electrocardiogram (ECG), frequency of
respiration, body temperature, etc.) are registered by a
monitor with several channels. This is the area where
devices required for airway securing and respiration are
located: tubes, masks, laryngeal masks, Ambu balloon,
portable respirator and instruments for endotracheal intubation (tubes, guiding wires, Magill forceps for nasotracheal intubation, laryngoscope, bite-blocking devices
(Guedel tube or a short tube made of rubber) and a catheter for removing excretion). Other instruments too can
be f