Fingerless gloves for hand trauma cases

Abstract

Tang and Bebbington have described a simple yet effective method of minimising contamination from adjacent surfaces during hand surgery with the use of a sterile surgical glove to isolate the surgical site. They also proposed the use of a rolled-down finger portion of the glove to be used as a finger tourniquet. The fact that this rolled-down finger tourniquet is not detached from the surgical glove may reduce the risk of leaving the tourniquet in situ after surgery. Iatrogenic digital ischaemic injuries may therefore be avoided. However, the use of a surgical glove as a digital tourniquet must be employed with great caution. The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) reported incidences of digital necrosis requiring subsequent amputation as a result of rubber or surgical glove finger tourniquets being left in situ.1 In reducing the risks of digital tourniquets being left after finger or toe surgery, the NPSA recommended that digital tourniquets should be brightly coloured and have a CE mark. The use of surgical gloves was also discouraged. The finger tourniquet described by Tang and Bebbington was highly visible as the rolled-down portion remained attached to the surgical glove. Nevertheless, the use of non-bright coloured surgical glove/rubber as a tourniquet will need to be exercised with caution.