The single-person technique should be used to reduce contamination during the gowning process, according to a study in The Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.
At a level 1 trauma center, 27 gowning events were monitored for contamination during a simulated two-person process, in which a surgical technician assisted a surgeon in the gowning process at the beginning of a surgical procedure.
The lower portion of the technician's gown was coated with resin powder to simulate contamination. Three surgeons of varying heights and three surgical technicians participated.
There was a 66.67 percent contamination rate when being gowned by a surgical technician. Study authors suggest that in order to reduce contamination in the operating room, the two-person method must be highly monitored.