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BALTIMORE, May 04, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers said nearly 40 percent of surgeries may involve patients who have HIV or hepatitis, placing surgeons at risk of contracting the diseases.
Surgeons who want to avoid these risks should use alternatives to knives and needles in high-risk procedures whenever possible, researchers from Johns Hopkins University reported in the May issue of the Annals of Surgery.
Called sharpless surgical techniques, these methods include laparoscopy, electrocautery instead of scalpel incisions, and skin clips or glue instead of sutures.
The researchers noted previous studies have shown 87 percent of surgeons will, at some point in their career, suffer an injury that breaks the skin and possibly exposes them to these diseases.
They found that out of 709 surgical procedures involving adults over a one-year period, 38 percent of the patients were infected with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Nearly half of the men tested positive for one of these diseases.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
