Gonad irradiation from fluoroscopy during upper limb orthopaedic procedures in a UK District General Hospital.

Objectives: To perform a dose assessment of radiation received to the surgeon's gonads when performing upper limb fluoroscopy-guided procedures when the C-arm may be positioned in between the surgeon's legs.

Methods: A calibrated MDH-Radcal 2025 electrometer was used to read the radiation dose for a single exposure and a 5-s screening radiograph with the C-arm firing up and down. These were performed with and without a lead gown positioned over the ionisation chamber where it would ordinarily lie over gonads during surgery.