Answer to Question #6118 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Category: Radiation Workers — Pregnant Workers

The following question was answered by an expert in the appropriate field:

I am a pregnant general surgeon who does some fluoroscopic procedures and I also do lymph-node mapping using^99mTc and other radioactive isotopes. Is wearing lead aprons adequate protection for the fetus and is the abdominal apron adequate considering some of my procedures take many, many hours to complete (back strain)? I will not have a daily exposure, unlike some of your other questioners who work in radiology, so I am assuming the lead is adequate.

Thank you for your question. The short answer to your question is, yes, the lead apron is adequate to protect you and the fetus from the radiation exposure. While we don't usually promote the use of a lead apron for work with most radionuclides, in this case the lead is also thick enough to offer some protection from the ^99mTc used for the sentinel node cases.

There are a couple of things you can consider (and probably have) relative to the back strain. One is to find a two-piece apron so that half the weight of the apron is on your shoulders and half on your hips rather than all the weight being on your shoulders. Our pregnant staff prefer the two-piece. The other consideration—and I don't know how much control you have over this—is to limit the wearing of the apron to only when the fluoroscopy unit is on. I suspect, however, that the apron is probably under your sterile garb so it really is not an option.

A third possibility is a portable Plexiglas^TM 0.5 mm lead-equivalent shield. Our state regulations state that during fluoroscopy procedures a person in the room needs to be protected by, minimally, 0.5 mm lead-equivalent shielding. For you this might mean that you could step behind the portable shield during the intermittent fluoroscopy procedures and not need to wear an apron. If your organization has some portable shields, this might work for you. If you haven't seen one, it is simply a 30" wide by about 70" tall piece of leaded Plexiglas^TM on wheels.

But again, the short answer is that by wearing the apron during these procedures, you are protecting the fetus.

Kelly Classic
Certified Medical Health Physicist

Answer posted on February 7, 2007. The information and material posted on this Web site is intended as general reference information only. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the concepts and applications of materials and information described herein. The information provided is not a substitute for professional advice and should not be relied upon in the absence of such professional advice specific to whatever facts and circumstances are presented in any given situation. Answers are correct at the time they are posted on the Web site. Be advised that over time, some requirements could change, new data could be made available, or Internet links could change. For answers that have been posted for several months or longer, please check the current status of the posted information prior to using the responses for specific applications.