After the operation, she felt as if she was lying in water, her whole body was icy cold.

Recently, an anesthesiologist from a large tertiary hospital sent me a message: A clinical problem has been discovered and we should find ways to improve it.

After receiving the information, Dr. Xue sensitively thought that this was indeed a problem: because the same situation existed in many hospitals.

He reported that water-intensive surgeries such as hysteroscopy and transurethral resection of the prostate often flooded the operating table. After the operation, the patient's back was almost always in the water.

In fact, our skin is not afraid of blisters. However, everyone’s first reaction may be “too cold”.

This is true, although the fluid used during surgery is heated. However, the room temperature of about 25 degrees will quickly draw away the heat from the water flowing onto the operating table.

At the same time, because the specific heat of water is very high, it takes a lot of heat to increase its temperature by one degree. Where does the heat come from? From the patient's body.

As a result, the patient's body temperature drops rapidly, and after the operation, they are almost shivering.

However, the anesthesiologist has more concerns. That is, there is still a puncture needle hole on the patient's back.

If it was an ordinary needle hole, the anesthesiologist would not think much about it. However, this needle hole goes straight into the spinal canal!

Where is the spinal canal?

The spinal canal is where the nerves are located, including the nerves that go to the trunk and limbs.

Once this place is infected, the consequences will be disastrous!

Some people say: After the anesthesia puncture is completed, isn’t tape applied?

It was indeed applied. However, the tape in the puncture kit is not waterproof at all, let alone able to withstand large amounts of water.

The terrifying thing is that after the operation, when the tube was removed, it was discovered that the tape had disappeared, leaving only the catheter hanging alone in the puncture point.

Of course, this is only a very rare case.

The anesthesiologist reported that the patient herself seemed to be very unwell. When she was told that the operation was over, she felt very cold and asked the nurse to cover her with a blanket.

However, the operating table was covered with water and could not be covered at all.

In the wetness, the surgeon turned the patient's body over. The adhesive tape was still there, but it had long been swollen by the water.

The patient felt even colder because his wet back was exposed to the air. Soon, he was shivering so much that he couldn't speak.

After leaving the operating table, the anesthesiologist felt very worried and blamed himself: He was worried about whether there would be an infection. He blamed himself for not taking good care of the patient. During the operation, he only focused on the patient's safety and ignored some details.

After fully understanding what happened, Dr. Xue suggested that they first take measures to prevent leakage and block the water outside the operating table. In addition, absorbent materials can be used to quickly absorb the liquid that accidentally flows under the patient.

At present, this is a common problem. I hope someone can come up with a good and innovative way to solve this problem completely.

Professionally speaking, this is not just a matter of dampness and coldness. Patients are also at risk of pressure sores if they are in a damp and compressed state for a long time.

In short, this is indeed a problem, both from a humanistic perspective and from a medical professional perspective!

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