FRII-07 GLOVE AFFAIR IN THE O.R. – HISTORY OF THE FIRST SURGICAL RUBBER GLOVE!

Abstract

You have accessJournal of UrologyHistory of Urology II (Moderated Poster)1 Apr 2014FRII-07 GLOVE AFFAIR IN THE O.R. – HISTORY OF THE FIRST SURGICAL RUBBER GLOVE! Jaimin R. Bhatt, Patrick O. Richard, Nicole Kim, Karthikeyan Manickavachagam, Thomas Hermanns, and Michael Jewett Jaimin R. BhattJaimin R. Bhatt More articles by this author , Patrick O. RichardPatrick O. Richard More articles by this author , Nicole KimNicole Kim More articles by this author , Karthikeyan ManickavachagamKarthikeyan Manickavachagam More articles by this author , Thomas HermannsThomas Hermanns More articles by this author , and Michael JewettMichael Jewett More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2014.02.1745AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Introduction and Objectives Today, no patient-side surgeon would dream of operating without the use of the rubber glove. However until the nineteenth century, it was quite the norm for surgeons to operate with their bare hands. This article looks at the history of the first rubber glove used in surgery. Methods A detailed Google and Pubmed search on history of the surgical glove. Results The eighteenth century has been called the century of the surgeon. Surgical sepsis killed more at the time than war, until a wave of change was started by pioneering work on attempts to reduce mortality due to sepsis. Back then, a surgeon’s prowess was known by the stiffness of his black coat from dried blood splashed during operations done using bare hands! An Austrian obstetrician Ignaz Semmelweiss, introduced simple hand-washing between his deliveries. This was met with stiff scorn, yet his obstetric mortality dropped marvellously. Women would wait in labour until he was on call! Then dawned the era of antisepsis due to ground-breaking work by Lord Lister from Glasgow with the use of carbolic acid as antisepsis, which was used to neutralize the odour of putrefaction in open sewers. Surgeons started spraying carbolic acid on their hands prior to operating with their bare hands. This new technique was adopted by William Stewart Halsted, famous American surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Halsted’s chief operating nurse, Miss Caroline Hampton, reacted to this strong chemical with dermatitis. She also happened to be Halsted’s lover. So Halsted had to think of a clever way to keep his lady love in his operating room and came up with an idea which would change the surgical arena forever. In 1890 he approached Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and asked them to make a rubber glove that he personally designed and commissioned purely to protect Caroline’s dainty hands. They got married the same year. One of his assistants Joseph Bloodgood also started using the gloves and found that the dexterity was still reasonably good. By early 1900s, operating staff at Johns Hopkins were routinely using the rubber glove. It was not until 1964 that Ansell started making disposable sterile surgical gloves. Conclusions The rubber glove, which is a major milestone in aseptic surgery, was born out of protecting a nurse’s hands from chemical hand-wash. This story highlights how important scientific applications are often discovered or invented accidentally or for a different purpose, but then reapplied with immense benefit. © 2014FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 191Issue 4SApril 2014Page: e629 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2014MetricsAuthor Information Jaimin R. Bhatt More articles by this author Patrick O. Richard More articles by this author Nicole Kim More articles by this author Karthikeyan Manickavachagam More articles by this author Thomas Hermanns More articles by this author Michael Jewett More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...