AAHA Standards: MA41 and SX14.1

We have chosen two separate standards to highlight today:

MA41: Practice team members within the sterile field during major surgery wear proper attire including:
•    Disposable caps and masks, or reusable caps and masks that are laundered before use
•    Sterile disposable gowns, or cloth gowns that are laundered and sterilized before each use

SX14.1: Practice team members in the surgical suite wear shoe covers and/or dedicated surgery shoes.

The first, MA41, is a mandatory standard for accreditation.  AAHA has additional standards that are completely voluntary; SX14.1 is one of those.  West Ridge Animal Hospital adheres to both of the above.  To us, proper surgical attire is just plain common sense and anything less is incomprehensible. 

All personnel involved in an actual surgery wear a cap, mask, gloves, gown and booties, which are donned after a thorough hand and forearm scrubbing with special soap.  These measures are followed to ensure sterility in the surgical suite, in an effort to prevent post-surgical infection.