Medical health personnel have acquired serious and rarely fatal
infections in the operating room from
AIDS patients. Yet, there are no officially approved
AIDS safety programs designed to protect medical health care personnel in the operating room. A sequential safety program is proposed beginning with the following steps: 1) evaluation and staging of the patient and associated complications; 2) protection of the major surgical and
laser instruments; 3) use of an efficient evacuator system to avoid plumes of
laser fragments from polluting the operating room environment; 4) protection of the operating room staff with special eye protection including helmets and shields, fluid-soak-resistant fabrics for garments, double
surgical gloves, and special orderly trays with safety holders for syringes, needles, sharp instruments, and
suture holders; 5) reporting and treatment of accidents, such as
needlestick puncture wounds, that require immediate attention and an
infectious disease consultation; 6)
postoperative care, which includes providing medical health care personnel protection from bloody bandages, needles, and the infectious patient; and 7) and finally, the washing and sterilizing of contaminated instruments by medical health care personnel using face shields and masks, gloves, and protective fabrics for garments. Continued experience with this proposed safety program will determine its future value for
AIDS surgical patients and for all health care workers.