title: An investigation into contamination of operative suction.
abstract: A study of the contamination of suckers used during total hip replacement has been undertaken. Thirty suckers used throughout the operation had their tips cultured: from 11 of these bacteria were grown. The organisms found were those which have previously been implicated in deep infection of total hip replacements. In subsequent operations a further 31 suckers were used for cleaning only the femoral shaft; of these only one was contaminated. This suggests that sucker contamination is related to how long the sucker is in use; consequently it is recommended that a new sucker be used for the preparation of the femoral shaft.
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D013396:Suction / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000635:transmission*; D013997:Time Factors