Enhanced Draping for Oculoplastic Surgery to Minimize Respiratory Exposure During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Surgeons and surgical staff operating on the face are at risk of respiratory-based infectious transmission given their proximity to the patient’s nose and mouth in the surgical field. We describe a modified sterile draping technique that creates a midface seal with inferior ventilation that minimizes surgeon and staff exposure to patient respiratory emissions and potential transmission of infectious diseases, as well as mitigates fire risk during oculoplastic surgery and other surgeries involving the upper face.