Preoperative Shaving with Razor Blades Versus no Preoperative Shaving in Elective Inguinal Hernia Repair: Impact on Surgical Site Infection Preoperative Shaving and SSI

Abstract

Background: Body hair could be removed for various reasons, including religious, aesthetic, cultural, medical, or as a part of preoperative preparations of surgical patients. It is a common tradition or routine in surgical practice to remove body hair preoperatively, as its presence can interfere with the surgical incisions, wound closure, and the application of adhesive wound dressings. Hair is also perceived to be associated with poor personal hygiene and the removal of body hair is thought to reduce the risk of surgical site infection (SSI). However, there are studies that claim that preoperative hair removal is deleterious, perhaps by increasing the incidence of SSI, and should not necessarily be carried out. Objectives: To determine the rate of surgical site infection associated with preoperative shaving of the operative site with razor blade versus no preoperative shaving in elective inguinal hernia repair, and to determine patients' levels of satisfaction with each preoperative method. Methods: We enrolled sixty consecutively consenting patients who met the inclusion criteria for elective inguinal hernia repair in this study. Thirty patients received preoperative hair removal with razor while 30 patients did not. We assessed postoperative surgical site infection on post-operative days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 30. Statistical analysis was done using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 17. The results obtained were presented in tables, bar charts, and pie charts. P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant by chi-square test. Results: Out of 60 patients who were recruited for the study, 3(5%) had postoperative surgical site infection (2 in the shaved group (6.7%) and 1 in the unshaved group (3.3%)) within 30 days in the form of mild erythema. The difference, however, was not statistically significant, with a P-value of 0.554. Conclusion: This study showed no advantage of preoperative shaving with a razor over no preoperative shaving in elective inguinal hernia repair with respect to the prevention of surgical site infection. There was a slightly higher surgical site infection rate associated with preoperative shaving, but the difference is not statistically significant.