Cleaning And Maintaining The Instruments For General Surgery
Simply purchasing high quality general surgical instruments is not enough, proper care and maintenance is of utmost importance for the caregivers. The best way to go about it is to follow the instructions given by the manufacturers. This way, you will not only know which cleaning agents to use but also get optimal results. Some of the main factors to consider regarding this include:
• Dilution of the cleaning agent
• Optimal water temperature
• Soak time of the instruments
• Quality of the water in use
Effectiveness of cleaning can be low or high based upon the amounts of the agents that you use. What are the main cleaning principles that everybody associated with the maintenance of the instruments in the operating room should know about? Keep all instruments that you want to clean in open position when beginning. Dissemble everything that contains multiple parts.
The main aim of the handlers is damage prevention so one needs to take the utmost care in this regard. If you have ultrasonic cleaner at your disposal then make sure you are separating each type of metal like chrome plating, stainless steel having non-ionized aluminum, copper and brass. Electrolysis occurs in hot wet chambers associated with ultrasonic cleaners and as a result parts transfer of metal parts occurs which you do not want.
Surgery instruments in general are extremely sophisticated and as such require proper handling and care every time. You cannot afford to replace these expensive items at regular and short notices. The only way to avoid this is to know what you are doing. Remember manual cleaning is still relevant and sometimes even irreplaceable as in the case of instruments related to ocular surgery. Dissemble them first and then submerge them in the recommended cleaning solutions.
The recommended method is that first you should wash the instruments thoroughly then rinse them followed by a final rinse for the best results. In case you are using basins make sure that you undertake frequent cleaning as they may very well contaminate the instruments instead. For sophisticated instruments, brushes with soft bristles are extremely important when it comes to effective cleaning. If your manufacturer recommends, then use of soft clothes is also possible.
In case the internal passageways are associated with the instruments that you're using in the operating room, special cleaning techniques are required. For this, you will need to keep brushes in appropriate sizes handy. Most times, such devices, accompanied with the required brushes do away with any chances of guesswork. After you clean thoroughly, do not forget to rinse for the best possible results.
The person who is doing the cleaning work has to don appropriate garments to make sure that he/she is not the agent of contamination. This includes impervious gowns containing sleeves, face shield, cuffed gloves, headgear, shoe covers, and high-filtration mask among others. These are known together as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Everything begins with the purchase of the right operating room instruments and for this, you can depend on the various options available at http://www.medicaldevicestore.com/store.
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 US. He has also authored quite a few Articles in the Medical Journals and loves to share his vast experience and knowledge.