Garbing Anesthetists in Lotuscloth: Impregnable Aprons of Latex-impregnated Silk

Advertised in the early 1930s with a flourish (left) and as “mercifully light in weight,” Lotuscloth was merely “silk, impregnated with pure latex-rubber.” Offered first to hospitals in the form of mattress covers, bed sheets, patient throws, and pillow covers, Lotuscloth was advertised to surgeons and anesthetists for garbing them in lightweight ope rating gowns and surgical aprons (right). Readily “washed, boiled, and sterilized,” Lotuscloth resisted chemical damage from disinfectants, such as “Lysol, Bi-Chloride solutions, Alcohol,” and, of interest to anesthetists, ether. Because the proprietary textile was both “non-porous, and waterproof,” a surgical gown or apron made of Lotu scloth could also spare anesthetists from self-inflicted skin burns resulting from chloroform spills. (Copyright © the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology.)

Source: Anesthesiology - June 20, 2018 Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research