Types Of Surgical Instruments Care

Surgical instruments are material assets for any hospital or medical facility and play a key role during surgeries. This is why care and maintenance of Surgical Instruments & Dental Instruments is very important to ensure their long-term performance. Hospital staff and doctors can expect trouble-free operation of instruments, employing proper techniques during care, use, to, and handling them. This post discusses easy solutions for surgical instrument care. *Consult manufacturer’s warranty.

Easy-to-Follow Surgical Instrument Care and Handling Solutions Explained

Here is to the easy-to-follow, Four-step solution for Surgical instrument care:

Cleaning and Disinfection:

This step helps protect instruments and users handling them. Whenever possible, instruments used during surgery should be disinfected and cleaned immediately after use. If any blood or organic tissue is left to dry, it will make cleaning difficult, thus damaging the instrument. This task can be performed using various cleaning brushes and cleaning solutions.

Lubrication:

All hinged instruments which have any “metal to metal” action at the screw or box lock. This helps to prevent any spotting, staining or rusting. Spray lubes are one of the popular types of lubricants used for this purpose.

Inspection:

After all Each instrument has a specific function; hence, a regular inspection should be conducted to ensure that they work properly. Scissors’ blades should open and close smoothly; check forceps for proper jaw alignment; hemostats and needle holders to ensure jaw tips close correctly. If you are unable to make a decision on the right method, you can always contact the manufacturer. It is always better to inspect fine instruments using an illuminated microscope. In order to avoid mishandling the instruments, they should be kept on special racks to ensure sharp instruments don’t touch each other.

Sterilization:

If autoclaving is the preferred method of sterilization, make sure the proper pouch size is used and ratchet locks are unlocked. Instruments locked during autoclaving can develop cracked hinges due to heat expansion.  Always try to follow an appropriate drying cycle to prevent the formation of excessive moisture and stains leading to corrosion.