Have room and all preparations ready before disturbing patient. Keep patient covered as much as possible. Protect table with a Kelly pad or a good substitute for same. Have at hand a drainage-pan and a bucket.
Shave field of operation.
Scrub with tincture of green soap and rinse with sterile water; then cleanse with ether, followed by alcohol, 70 per cent.
Put on dry sterile dressing (a towel), apply a suitable bandage and fasten securely.
Douches are given only by direction of the surgeon—sterile water preferred.
The final preparation is given in the operating-room a few minutes before the operation is begun, consisting of a heavy coating of tincture of iodin, applied by the surgeon in attendance.
Morning of Operation.—Have a specimen of urine ready for analysis. No food six hours before operation. If patient cannot urinate a few minutes before going to the operating-room, catheterize, with doctor’s permission. Remove false teeth, jewelry, and protect patient from the cold.
TO PREPARE A ROOM FOR
A MAJOR OPERATION.
By Eveleen Harrison,
Graduate of the Post-Graduate Hospital,
New York.
From the American Journal of Nursing.