Surgical lubricant

Surgical lubricants, or medical lubricants, are substances used by health care providers to provide lubrication and lessen discomfort to the patient during certain medical and surgical procedures such as urethral catheterisation, ^[1] cystoscopy, ^[1] vaginal ^[2] or rectal examinations. ^[3] Some examples of surgical compatible lubricants are:

• Surgilube is a surgical lubricant made of natural water-soluble gums that also contains the antiseptic chlorhexidine gluconate. ^[4]

• K-Y Jelly was initially used as a surgical lubricant before it gained popularity as a personal lubricant. ^[5]

• Lidocaine gel with local anaesthetic effect reduces procedure pain beyond what is achieved with water-based lubricant and is used in for example catheterisation and cataract surgery. ^{[1] [6]}

• Medicinal castor oil was the original vegetable-based surgical lubricant. ^[7]

Indications for medical lubricants include Sjögren syndrome, specifically for treating vaginal dryness, dyspareunia (painful sexual intercourse) and vulvodynia (vaginal pain).^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Varndell, Wayne; Blamires, Julie; Sheppard-Law, Suzanne (November 2025). "Does 2% Lignocaine Gel Reduce Urethral Catheterisation Pain in Women? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis". International Journal of Urological Nursing. 19 (3) e70039. doi: 10.1111/ijun.70039 .
2. Bickley LS, Szilagyi PG, Bates B (2013). Bates' guide to physical examination and history-taking (11th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN   978-1-60913-762-5. OCLC   801810287.
3. Adanu, Kekeli Kodjo; Iroko, Davidson; Amegan-Aho, Kokou; Adedia, David; Ndudiri, Orish Verner; Ali, Mahamudu Ayamba; Oyortey, Mawuenyo Attawa; Kpodonu, Jacques (March 2023). "Comparing the effectiveness and lubricity of a novel Shea lubricant to 2% lidocaine gel for digital rectal examination: A randomized non-inferiority trial". Scientific Reports. 13 (1) 4666. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-31555-2. PMC   10033511 . PMID   36949085.
4. "Surgilube Sterile Lubricating Jelly | Water-Soluble, Non-Irritating, Non-Staining Lubricating Jelly | Medi-Vet". www.medi-vet.com. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
5. "The History of K-Y™ Brand". ourstory.jnj.com. Johnson & Johnson. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
6. Reddy, Akshay J.; Dang, Allen; Dao, Amy A.; Arakji, Gordon; Cherian, Joshua; Brahmbhatt, Hetal (October 2021). "A Substantive Narrative Review on the Usage of Lidocaine in Cataract Surgery". Cureus. 13 (10) e19138. doi: 10.7759/cureus.19138 . PMC   8559888 . PMID   34737914.
7. Gallant, A. E. (1897). "Report upon the Use of a Mixture of Castor oil and Balsam of Peru as a Surgical Dressing". Annals of Surgery. 26 (3): 329–339. PMC   1425429 . PMID   17860484.