1 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U N E 2 0 1 8
P
eeling
self-
adhering
drapes off a
patient's face after
cataract surgery
can be quite
painful and can
even cause cuta-
neous epithelial
defects. Cataract
patients are
emerging from light anesthesia at the end of cases when you
remove the drapes, so the discomfort can become the proce-
dure's defining moment. I came up with this 3-step process to
take the pain out of the process:
1. Massage face cream onto the patient's face in the pre-op
holding area.
2. Flick water on the adhesive part of the drape and lightly pat
that part on your surgical gown, sticking and unsticking the
drape a few times.
3. Dry the drape and put it on the patient.
Those moves significantly reduce the drape's stickiness, but
still leave it sticky enough to adhere lightly to the patient.
Christopher Kuntz, MD
Bellevue, Wash.
chriskuntzmd@gmail.com
Removing Face Drapes Doesn't Have to Hurt
• SOFT TOUCH Reducing some of a drape's stickiness before applying it makes
removal much easier.
CATARACT COMFORT
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
Ideas Work
That