Use of Clean versus Sterile Gloves—A Microbiological Study in 10 FUE Procedures

ABSTRACT

Hair restoration surgery (HRS) is a clean but not sterile procedure. A question that often arises is whether using sterile gloves would be safer than using clean gloves. This study answers the question with a definite “no.” After 30 minutes of graft excision during follicular unit excision (FUE), the patients’ scalps were equally contaminated whether using sterile gloves or clean gloves.

The primary source of contamination was the extensive microbiome of the hair follicles and other skin structures. As the FUE procedure progressed, the microbiota recontaminated the operation site, no matter how sterile the gloves were. The recolonization was likely part of the scalp’s natural ecology, which also explains why washing the hair with iodine soap ahead of the surgery had no apparent aseptic effect.