Lifting incise drapes off the skin during wound closure can cause contamination.

Incise drapes adhere well to skin and reduce bacterial migration into the wound. We took skin swabs before and after the application of incise drapes during 49 hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. Contamination was detected under incise drapes in four cases (8.1%) and consisted mainly of skin flora. We conclude that it is important to clean the skin again with antiseptics if the incise drape is removed by the surgeon.