Gel toenails - surgery

[HausofHolbein]

Hi - I've removed the gels from my fingers. Do I (really) need to remove the ones on my toes, too? Thanks.

Yes you do as it can contaminate sterile surfaces or bring bacteria in.

Thanks. Out of curiosity, what would happen if it was emergency surgery?

I think they'd probably scrape at least one off your toes, seeing nail beds is an important way of checking your perfusion.

@Throwawayagain1234 - thank you

The surfaces would be contaminated and the level of sterility would not be as high as it could have been but it's an emergency situation and so the situation can't be as controlled as it would have been in a planned surgery.

They'd let you die obv instead of taking the infection risk. 🙄They would just have to get on with it and if they could/had the time to do anything about your toenails they would. But the whole not dying thing is kind of the priority in such situations.

I have never removed mine during planned surgeries. Or emergency ones. I have natural looking nails, so not sure they noticed.

It isn’t worth the risk of infection, which can lead to serious complications. I would have removed them had I been told,

I didn't remove mine. The nurse said it was fine to leave it

No, it’s fine. (Unless it’s foot surgery & the surgeons would want it off so that no chips can break off /get in the wound & they can properly see what they’re doing). In nearly 20 years anaesthetising I can count on zero fingers the number of times that being able to see toenail beds has made any difference to anything. It also won’t increase the risk of infection (unless you’re using nail varnish to disguise the fact you never was your feet!).

Surely it depends on the surgery...feels hard to believe gel toe nails would be a huge infection risk if you were getting surgery on your head..?

My understanding with gels is so that those oxygen monitors they put on fingers or toes won’t work on gels

You need to remove neither. I have both gels on my fingers and toes - had surgery on Monday, they just made a note about it on my admission paperwork.

You need to ask your surgical team. No one on here will know for certain and it’s misleading when people say it’s fine as that may not be the case. I had to remove mine for surgery for the pulse oximeter that clips on your finger but they also said no polish on toes.

Where on your body is the surgery?

Hi all - thank you.

Surgical team said they have to come off, so they have been removed. Gutted as they were all very festive, but hey-ho!

Surgery is to the abdomen.

I suspect that they needed to come off in case the anaesthetist needed to check the perfusion to your legs and feet during surgery, @HausofHolbein.

I used to be a Theatre nurse and have never heard of gel/false nails being an infection risk - unless the surgery was to the fingers or toes. Otherwise, the patient is completely covered in sterile drapes, with only the surgical area exposed, so I can’t see how germs from gel nails on the toes, for example, would get into an abdominal wound.