Iryna Filkina, 52, an aspiring makeup artist, was among the victims of the notorious killings in the Ukrainian village of Bucha on March 5. According to Metro, a makeup artist in nearby Gostomel was able to identify her in one of the photographs because of her colored fingernails.

Nail polish, in this case, helped authorities identify the body and contact her family. However, there are cases when colored fingernails are not advisable, such as during surgery.

Rare Case of Colored Fingernails Helped Authorities Identify Bucha Killings Victim's Body; But Why Do Surgeons Advise Patients to Remove Nail Polish Before Surgery?
(Photo : Pixabay/ivabalk)
Rare Case of Colored Fingernails Helped Authorities Identify Bucha Killings Victim's Body; But Why Do Surgeons Advise Patients to Remove Nail Polish Before Surgery?

How Did Authorities Identify the Victim With Her Colored Fingernails?

Drone footage shows an unidentified cyclist in a blue boat pushing her bike up the street, unaware of the Russian forces waiting to attack. The cyclist, now identified as the 52-year-old aspiring makeup artist, was killed during an open fire.

Photos of the killings in the Ukrainian village Bucha were shared and Iryna's body was identified by a makeup artist named Anastasia Subacheva, who lives in the nearby city of Gostomel.

She told The New York Times that she instantly recognized Iryna's hand upon seeing it in the photo because it was the same hand she often saw during the victim's makeup lessons. "When I saw it, I felt physically like my heart started to break," she said from the city of Kropyvnytskyi.

The gut-wrenching photo showed Iryna's outstretched hand with distinctive nail polish in bold red and pink.

Meanwhile, Iryna's daughter Olha Shchyruk said she first heard about her mother's death on March 6 but hoped that the news was not true despite not being able to contact her mother for a month.

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Why Do Surgeons Advise Patients to Remove Nail Polish Before Surgery?

Iryna's colored fingernails became a useful tool in identifying her body after being killed in an open fire by the Russian soldiers. However, in some instances, one is best without them.

Doctors, nurses, and assistants in the operating room wash their hands carefully and avoid using rings and nail polish to prevent infection from bacteria during surgery. On the patient's end, doctors do not recommend wearing nail polish because it reduces the effectiveness of the oxygen monitor.

Jon Paul Trevisani, MD, FACS explained on his blog why patients should not wear colored nail polish during surgery. According to him, a monitoring device called an oximeter is placed on a patient's fingertip to measure oxygen levels in the blood. But the nail polish will reduce its effectiveness because it blocks accurate readings. 

Cyanosis is an unusual bluish cast or discoloration of the skin and mucuous membranes. It is commonly noticed around the lips, mouth, palms of the hands, soles of the feet and fingernails. 

Even without an oximeter, doctors and nurses could observe the condition by checking the patient's fingernails. The nail bed, the formative layer of cells underlying the fingernail, is one of the best places to detect cyanosis caused by low oxygen levels and it will not be visible when one has colored nail polish. For the same reason, one should not wear makeup and lipstick during surgery.

According to Ocean Surgery, makeup could conceal the real skin color, making it harder for the doctors to assess how the body reacts to the surgery. 

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