Both medical staff and patients are at a high risk of infection from blood-borne pathogens during surgery. Surgical gloves are mostly the only protective barrier between personnel and patients. Due to the invasive nature of surgery, surgical gloves are often perforated, leading to the loss of their protective function. These perforations are often not noticed by the surgeon until after the exposure. Immediate recognition of perforations and skin injuries is absolutely essential for the success of postexposure prophylaxis. Several studies have shown that double gloving reduces the risk of exposure to body fl uids during surgery. The number of perforations in outer gloves in most studies is similar to that with single gloving; perforations in both the outer and inner pair of gloves minimizes blood contact by more than 80 %. Surgical gloves with a perforation indication function (coloured inner pair) allow the detection of perforations during surgical operations. The potential loss of tactile sensitivity and dexterity are the most important arguments against the use of double gloves. Our own studies have shown using the two-point discrimination test that the subjective loss of hand sensitivity in simulated situations could not be proved. Authors of similar studies found that the perceived decrease in hand sensitivity with double gloves is more prevalent among those surgeons who do not use double gloves. The necessary time for adaptation in most surgeons in these studies was only one day.
