The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery

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Commentary & Perspective

Commentary & Perspective on
"Sterility of Surgical Site Marking"
by Geoffrey Cronen, MD, et al.

Commentary & Perspective by
S. Terry Canale, MD*,
Chairman, AAOS Task Force on Wrong-Site Surgery,
Campbell Clinic, Memphis, Tennessee

In the process of formulating the "Sign Your Site" program, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ Task Force on Wrong-Site Surgery noted that a possible complication might be the contamination of the operative site with the marking pen¹. Because an infection caused by the pen has never been reported, the Task Force concluded that this theoretical possibility was insufficient to thwart implementation of a program that addressed a real and present need.

Now, thanks to this paper by Cronen et al., another theoretical concern about signing the site has been eliminated. As the authors have pointed out, orthopaedists should now be less worried about possible contamination and be more concerned with the safety of their patients by using the "Sign Your Site" protocol.

In my thirty-year career of academic and clinical orthopaedic practice, I have found that the most profound clinical research has usually been simple, easily understood, and conclusive. This straightforward study has all of those qualities and, in its own way, helps provide further safety for our surgical patients.

*The author did not receive grants or outside funding in support of his research or preparation of this manuscript. He did not receive payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, educational institution, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the author is affiliated or associated.

References

1. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Council on Education. Report of the Task Force on Wrong-Site Surgery. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; 1998. www.aaos.org/wordhtml/meded/tasksite.htm.