THE PREOPERATIVE SKIN SHAVE IN NEUROSURGERY - IS IT JUSTIFIED

Shaving the scalp prior to surgery is a very common practice. Out of 1 05 cases operated upon without skin shave at the Royal London Hospital , only one became infected (0.95%). A search into the history of asept ic surgery shows that there are no scientific grounds for the practice of shaving. An examination of contemporary practices worldwide shows that there is a greater realization that preoperative skin shaving doe s not confer any benefit against postoperative wound infection and tha t, paradoxically, it may lead to higher rates of wound infection due t o the epidermal injury that it inflicts.