Proper Uses And Related Precautions For Surgical Equipment

The operating room environment as everybody knows is a highly controlled one for obvious reasons. One of the important aspects of keeping everything as hygienic and germfree as possible is the proper maintenance and cleaning of the various surgical instruments. There shouldn't be any serious injuries, infections, and illnesses spread due to the use of instruments during different procedures. So how does medical staff ensure this? What kind of precautions do they take while using these sophisticated pieces?

Care and use of sharp equipments

It is extremely important to keep occupational illnesses and injuries at bay. A great way to ensure this is by learning from negative incidences. If something like that has happened in the past, it is important to keep a record so that people can refer to it when purchasing, handling, or using these instruments. What was the brand and the type of device associated with the issue, the exact incidence location, along with a proper incidence description. This will help you to take the right precautions every time the same equipment comes in use in a similar situation.

Instructions for proper use

It extremely important to avoid needle recapping or unnecessary manipulation is handling which may lead to health hazards and physical injuries. Medical device sales come with associated instructions for proper use every time. It's important to follow these to keep safe yourself and others too. Disposal of used pieces should be in containers that are resistant to puncture. If you are keeping an unsheathed needle anywhere, make sure that the chances of contamination in that area is nil. Also, you should avoid any situation that leads to unintentional sticks of the needle causing injuries.

Handling the surgical equipments

• Wear medicated gloves while handling these and ensure that you have complete related knowledge for optimal use.
• Systematic cleaning of the equipment is important before sterilization. Scrub them using water and soap, you may also use special solution of detergents if required. Ultrasonic cleaners have now become an acceptable phenomenon in the operating room where the covered ones increase cleaning efficiency. This way, you will also prevent the chance of injuries when handling.
• Wearing utility gloves is extremely important when you handle contaminated instruments. This will bring down your exposure to infections significantly.
• It is important to clean and sterilize surgical devices prior to use in operating theatres. Dipping them in the sterilized water time to time for making them infection free is a common phenomenon. This way coagulation of blood on the surface of these instruments will not occur.
• When all is done, proper disposal of the used items is extremely important too. Medical device companies provide detailed disposal instructions with their products and it is important for the healthcare establishment to follow these. If you are using disposable varieties, make sure that you are not disinfecting, sterilizing, or cleaning them for second time use EVER!

About The Author

Neil Jackson is a Medical Device Specialist who has been in the industry for more than a decade now. He has been regularly following the leading medical device companies across the globe, especially the in the U.S. He has also authored quite a few articles in medical Journals and loves to share his vast experience and knowledge.