Adhesive Surgical Drapes in Veterinary Use

In typical veterinary theatre practice, towel clips are used to secure either single-use or cloth drapes. This traditional method has been in use for many decades, but carries significant disadvantages with regard to asepsis. It provides no barrier to contamination moving under the drape from the surrounding area. Clipped drapes can slide during the procedure and the inner contaminated drape surface can potentially move over the sterile field. Towel clips are also a cause of skin trauma and humans have reported pain from clipping sites post-operatively. Adhesive drapes are anchored and sealed to the skin surrounding the wound, isolating the wound with a physical barrier and improving asepsis. Animal skin is more mobile and elastic than human skin, and adhesion of the drape may prove slightly more difficult, but use of these drapes on animals is feasible. Thorough preparation, including removal of hair over the full area to which the adhesive will attach is important. The skin should be dry prior to draping.

Vygon Vet single drapes, also available in sets, have a wide adhesive band along one edge which provides good attachment to the patient. When used as a set of four these drapes bond tightly to each other, effectively forming a custom sized fenestrated drape having a wide adhesive area. If the skin is uneven, or there are other reasons to suspect adhesion may fail, use of adhesive drapes and towel clips is still worthwhile, offering a better seal than conventional draping. Vygon Vet adhesive set 4639.12 has been used for midline ovariohysterectomy in the bitch and provided good skin adhesion without use of additional clips.

Adhesive surgical drapes from Vygon Vet:
Non Sterile Drapes
Sterile Drape Towels
Universal Packs
Incise Drapes
Fenestrated Drapes
Limb Surgery Drapes

© Vygon (UK) Ltd 2009