On the construction of operating theatres : with a description of the operating theatre of the new Glasgow Cancer Hospital / by George Thomas Beatson.

  • Beatson, George Thomas, 1848-1933.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the construction of operating theatres : with a description of the operating theatre of the new Glasgow Cancer Hospital / by George Thomas Beatson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    question of spectators. 1 believe that when those actually engaged in the operation and who come into contact with the wound are careful to carry out all the necessary precautions that no harm can accrue from the presence of other persons in the vicinity. There can be no doubt that the utility of oui hospitals as teachings centres will be impaired if students and practitioners are not to be permitted to be present at operations unless under conditions quite incompatible with their other duties. A system, too, of surgical technique that demands such a condition is also undoubtedly defective. 3. The Floor, Walls, and Ceiling.—Seeing that organic material when disseminated through the air in a dry state in the form of dust is the chief danger in operations, it is in this direction that cur chief precautions must be taken, and the two principles to work upon are the ones I have already mentioned :— 1. The gravitating power of dust. 2. That micro-organisms cannot be given off into the air from moist surfaces. 1. The Gravitating Power of Dust.—This may be facilitated by the entire absence in the operating theatre of all ornate decoration, recesses, and corners. The walls should be free of ornamentation, and at their junction with the floor and ceiling they should be rounded off so that they should afford no lodgment for dust. In the same way any woodwork covering electric wires should be similarly shaped. Such an arrangement permits of the dust falling on to the floor, and of that thorough cleansing of the theatre which is such an important point to attend to. 2. That Micro-Organisms cannot he given offfrom a moist surface. —To allow of this principle being acted on it is essential that the floor, walls, and ceiling should be so constructed that water can be freely used upon them. This can only be done if they are composed of water-tight materials, and if proper drainage is provided. (a) Water-tight Materials.—For the floor various substances have been employed. The following list includes the chief ones:— terazzo, tiles (of various kinds), glass, asphalt, cement, plaster of Paris soaked in oil, and linoleum. The general experience seems in favour of terazzo, which is composed of small marble blocks jointed with Portland cement and then polished. The objections urged against the others are that the tiles must have
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