JohnFerguson Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 A very close friend and colleague of mine is currently trying to concieve. We both work in the OR on a regular basis. She is very concerned about how to hide the fact that she is (hopefully soon) pregnant. She has expressed concern to me regarding the need to more routinely wear lead for fluoroscopy cases. (She wears lead here and there as of now.) She is fearful this will be a dead give away to all our colleagues, including our SP. She is also concerned about work hazards while she is pregnant in the OR. Anyone have any experience or advice for her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted January 24, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2014 Make sure the anesthetist isn't using nitrous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradtPA Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Too many hazards, I would advise against it: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7843833 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFarnsworth Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 As a pregnant PA in surgery for both pregnancies, my advice is this: she HAS to tell someone if she is pregnant or even might be pregnant. I did not go into any OR that had a chance of harming my fetus. I was not in the room when any radiation was being used. I refused to go into a case where a little girl had active TB and a trach. I informed all the staff including the anesthesiologist that I might be pregnant, and documented who was in the room. Paranoid? Maybe. But no one but me was looking out for the welfare of my children except me. Ask your colleague this: if her baby has any kind of abnormality when it's born, how long will she blame herself for not taking more preacutions? Her employer will take zero responsibility and it is up to her to protect herself and her baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted January 25, 2014 Moderator Share Posted January 25, 2014 get pregnancy weight lead (double up) is it only logical to wear lead in EVERY case no matter male, female, young or old - just wear it and don't say a thing take pee tests pretty regularly and when positive get out of the fluoro room no one has the right to know pregnancy issues till you want them to, but no point in exposing yourself to radiation oh yeah btw.... (to restate the obvious) every single egg you will ever have is already sitting in your ovaries ------ WEAR LEAD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quirkymedic Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 My SP had been trying to conceive for years, and suddenly out of the blue after trying everything, she became pregnant naturally. she was extremely paranoid about exposure to the baby and was very, very diligent about fluro cases. she did not tell anyone, except me that she was pregnant for the first 5 months. The only give away was that suddenly she was having me do all of the cholangiograms and she would run out of the room. She even refused to go into rooms where the pt underwent HIDA scan because of the pt's exposure during the test. Everyone in my group wears lead in all cases where radiation exposure is even a remote possibility. Men too. Protect your thyroid. Maybe you can both conspire to start wearing lead in all fluro cases so it doesn't look so obvious? when others see you wearing lead, maybe they will start too... and you all will be safer in the long run. Also, who cares what others think.... theres nothing more important than protecting yourself and your kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradtPA Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Unfortunately it's not just the radiation, it's the solvents, cleaners, and blood-borne pathogens that are also a threat..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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