can patients keep their underpants on for surgery

Specialties Operating Room

Updated:   Published

Well, the title says it all. However of course it would depend on where the surgeon will be cutting. If the surgical site is not close to the abdominal, pelvic, upper thigh, etc. area, what do you guys do?

I often tell patients they can leave their underpants on, for example for breast biopsies. I always tell them in an emergency their underpants may need to be cut off. I've heard one surgeon (who does a lot of breast biopsies) say yes, of course, you can leave your underpants on. But sometimes a co-worker comes along after me and tells the patient, oh no, you HAVE TO take everything off. I also hear something about if the underpants are ??? nylon ??? or something about what the fabric is they can catch fire more easily?

I wasnt going to have surgery if i couldnt!!

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No catheter necessary for gall bladder removal thank good ness my under wear stayed on

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Had just had gall bladder surgery mine stayed on there was no reason why they had to be off!!!

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Specializes in Operating room..

It depends...some docs like to make a very low incision and then they come off (can't have them near the sterile field, higher risk of infection). If you forgot to urinate within 30 minutes of the procedure we will have to place a foley (we take it out before you leave the OR), and they will go back on in recovery. But if a patient insists on keeping them we just pull them down and then back up in recovery...sorry. Trust me...we could care less about your "parts"...we've seen way too many. You should care more about not having an infection caused by dirty underwear (yes, yours were probably clean but I've seen some really bad drawers). The "rubber" on the underwear isn't as much of a problem anymore as most bovies are newer and not an issue...but you just never know what will happen in surgery....I have had to cut them off while crawling up under the drapes after the procedure has started (I've also placed foleys under the sterile drapes while in surgery....hate that, and put on a tourniquet on the upper thigh under the sterile drapes during surgery...just take them off).

MereSanity BSN, RN, CNOR

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I'm a peds OR nurse and it really depends on the surgery site and length of case but for the most part I'd say they come with their underwear (or diaper) on. If we need to put in a foley, we just remove their underwear and it's usually not an issue. If it's a bigger patient, I have asked them to remove their underwear before they lay on the OR bed, just to make it easier on me later.

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TammyOllice said:
I wasnt going to have surgery if i couldnt!!

So someone seeing your coochie is more important than having surgery? LOL-I'm sure the professionals in the OR have seen a ton of them-what makes yours so special that you would refuse to have surgery if you had to take your underwear off?

And how do you know they weren't taken off while you were under the anesthesia? Think about that one, lol. Pretty easy to do and you'd never know..................OMG-someone might have seen your COOCHIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Nothing like resurrecting a 3 year old thread!!

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JustBeachyNurse said:
Nothing like resurrecting a 3 year old thread!!

Yep, just to let everyone here know that her coochie is "special" and that no one was going to be able to see it if she had to take her underwear off for surgery!;)

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
TheGooch said:
Yep, just to let everyone here know that her coochie is "special" and that no one was going to be able to see it if she had to take her underwear off for surgery!;)

And four posts to declare as such. I only did OR in nursing school clinical. We were doing a lady partsl hysterectomy and I thought the OR staff's head was going to collectively explode when the patient refused to remove underwear even when team was willing to let her walk to the OR and remove right before bedding. And she knew the access needed to perform the surgery.

I think on my next rotation the prostate bx patients all same in "commando" without a care. ;)

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I have just had an operation done [bCC on eyebrow] and on 5 different occasions I was encouraged to remove my underwear. This escalated to bullying by a particular individual in pre-op ending in a 'row' and a near walkout by me. I understand why in certain circumstances underwear may be a problem however the excuse of loosened bowels is hardly a good enough one particularly if you have had no food/drink for 12hrs previously. I have never heard of an occasion where underwear has spontaneously combusted but if anyone else has please let me know! Let's at least be honest about the reasons for this pants thing - it is purely for the benefit of medical staff 'in case'. Never mind the patient - this is the way this nurse/doctor/hospital does it and you [the patient] will fit into our system. Like the gall bladder patient I have also had an op carried out below my waistline and the pants stayed on! Medical professionals really must learn that for many patients underwear, or lack of it, is a huge morale thing. I entered that operating theatre with severely raised heartbeat, blood pressure and respiration which could have had other repercussions - that is unacceptable!

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Specializes in Operating Room.

The way we do it is, if you are having general surgery, or abdominal surgery, the underpants come off. They may not come off while you are awake but off they come, they get put into a labeled bag and put with the rest of your belongings. If you come in as a trauma, they will get cut off, for obvious reasons.

I wouldn't have fought you on keeping underwear on for something minor or on the face. If having an abdominal or gynecologic procedure, you would have been allowed to keep them on until you were asleep, then they would have been removed, per our policy.

I worked with a surgeon who didn't want patients to keep underwear on because like a previous poster mentioned, even if they are pulled down somewhat, they can be close to the incision site. It's an infection risk, plus, some of the prepping solutions we use stain, and they'd get ruined anyway. I'm not implying anything about your hygiene but we have had patients come in with grody underwear that could stand up on its own..bad idea to have that near a surgical site.

Just curious, what operation did you have "below the waistline" where your underwear stayed on..I will venture that they came off while you were asleep and then were replaced by a very nice nurse,lol. Unless it was a podiatry case or perhaps something like a knee scope?

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Specializes in Operating Room.

Had one whackadoodle patient that wanted to keep them on for her C-Section...um hello? Remember how the baby got there in the first place,lol.

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