Blood splash and tonsillectomy: an underestimated hazard to the otolaryngologist

Mucocutaneous exposure is an important route of transmission of hepatitis v iruses and HIV in healthcare workers. Few data exist in the literature on t he risk of transconjunctival exposure during many surgical procedures. We i nvestigated the use of eye protection during tonsillectomy and measured the incidence of potential eye splash, No otolaryngologist surveyed routinely used eye protection during tonsillectomy. Splash events occurred in 23 out of 103 tonsillectomies. In all cases the surgeon was unaware of the splash. Splash events were significantly more likely to occur during adult tonsill ectomy (p < 0.05). We strongly advise the routine use of eye protection dur ing tonsillectomy.