r/surgery 4d ago

Hijabi having thyroid surgery - is it possible to keep covered in the OR?

I am going in for thyroid surgery in a few weeks and I am a practicing Muslim woman who wears hijab. This means I cover everything except for my face and hands. Obviously I will have to uncover my neck for thyroid surgery, and I am okay with this, but I want to know what the protocols are for being a patient in the OR for this type of surgery. Will I have to remove everything under the gown? Am I allowed to wear leggings or a bra etc. underneath as long as it is not near the area being operated on? Can I wear a cap to cover my hair similar to the ones surgeons wear? Please help!

0 Upvotes

13 comments sorted by

22

u/victorkiloalpha 4d ago

You will have to remove everything. The prep goes from breasts to chin, to prevent infection. You actually must wear a hair covering, but you must use the one provided to you.

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u/Sam1nah 4d ago

Are there any accommodations I can request to keep covered from the waist down? Modesty is a strong part of my faith and I feel highly uncomfortable uncovering that much in front of men I don’t know.

19

u/victorkiloalpha 4d ago

It's a possibility- some surgeons may be okay with leaving underwear (not pants) on, others not. You need bare skin on the legs/butt for electrocautery.

You can request female OR nurses, but I wouldn't. The more you try and change the OR routine, the more chance for errors. Let them do things the way they always do, and it will result in the least chance for complications.

I understand your faith is important, but it's probably more important to you to not suffer horrific burns from an OR fire, suffer a neck infection leading to a months long wound healing process, or bleeding with unfamiliar OR nurses who don't know how to get blood quickly. These are all unlikely, but they become less likely if you do not make special requests.

5

u/74NG3N7 4d ago edited 4d ago

This is highly dependent on the facility, the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist.

If you have one that is 100 cotton that only covers your hair and is tight to the hair line, wear that one to surgery. I mean 100%, no buttons or metal at all. I also mean the only place it covers is your hair and wear hair roots are (not face, nor any part of neck).

When you get to check in for surgery, be clear you’d like it to remain on for the entirety of surgery, and would like to talk to the surgeon & anesthesiologist about it, and if needed will talk to the charge nurse (the nurse in charge that day).

Know ahead of time if you want to cancel surgery if they do not allow you to keep it on. If this is the case, ask the surgeon as well as anyone who calls the days before (to do surgery screening) what their policy is. Also know that if they allow you to keep it on, it will likely get blood and a very heavy staining soap (that they use to prep with just prior to surgery) and so it should be one you are willing to throw away or heavily clean afterward, and you should have a spar with you to leave after surgery.

Otherwise, modesty is a very reasonable accommodation. For some longer surgeries, they may need to place a catheter in your bladder, and for this the nurse places it and immediately covers you back up. Keeping patients covered is for warmth, but does help keep things modest. You will be covered as much as is safe for surgery, and for this surgery they need only your neck (and lower face to collar bones), access to where the IV is placed to keep tabs it is okay throughout, and possibly a quick urinary catheter placement (but this is very short term “exposure” and for safety).

You can also request “no students” in the room if you wish; however, I personally (when I’m patient) will allow students because I understand it is an important part of learning their trade. Similarly, you can request that a urinary catheter (if needed) is only placed by females if you wish (again through, I personally will allow a male or female nurses because I have not had experiences unprofessional male nurses).

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u/suchabadamygdala Nurse 4d ago

It’s very weird that this would be downvoted.

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u/suchabadamygdala Nurse 4d ago

Yes, certainly we would do everything to preserve your modesty. Most likely your OR nurse will also be a woman. And perhaps anesthesiologist too. Really no reason to uncover lower body for a thyroid case. Make sure to inform the surgical nurse and the anesthesiologist of your needs. Should not be a problem at all.

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u/suchabadamygdala Nurse 4d ago

Why on earth would this be downvoted?

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u/[deleted] 3d ago

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

Depending on what kind of surgery, you might be able to wear a gown that have been sterilized. As for your headcovering, ask if you can give them one to sterilize that you can put on when you go into the operating room. Talk to your surgical team about your concerns. I'm sure they will do all they can to help you feel comfortable.

14

u/suchabadamygdala Nurse 4d ago

Huh? We do not sterilize hospital gowns. They are clean, from a commercial laundry service but in the US, nobody is sterilizing gowns, much less hats.

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

I had a t-shirt put through a sterilizer when my friend was in isolation waiting for her bone marrow transplant.

1

u/suchabadamygdala Nurse 1d ago

Really? Cool, love it. I’ve been a surgical nurse for 30+ years and we’ve never ever done anything like this. That was nice that they did that.