Cesarean section instrument tables are often not prepared in advance because of concern of contamination risk. The Association of Operating Room Nurses Standards decries the use of pre-preparation of surgical instrument tables because of this risk, although there are no scientific data to support this claim. We evaluated the contamination risk of pre-preparation of surgical instrument tables, prolonged table coverage and table uncovering using a specific technique referred to as the "sardine can roll." Colony counts were positive in only seven of 180 cultures (< or = 15 colonies per plate in each instance) from six tables evaluated after prolonged coverage or uncovering, or both. These data suggest that contamination risk is slight for the uncovering technique described herein and advance table preparation (24 hours or less, never recovered) is a reasonable clinical option in units in which table preparation reduces response time in emergent clinical situations, such as cesarean section for acute fetal distress.