"The less vibration, the better, so that it's just the saw blade that's
moving and I'm not having to counteract the inertia of the tool," says
Daniel Farber, MD, foot and ankle specialist and assistant professor of
clinical orthopedic surgery at University of Pennsylvania Medicine in
Philadelphia. "If it's smooth, you're just working the saw and you're
not fighting it with your hands."
Consider the ease of toggling between forward and reverse. The
oscillate (back and forth) feature, for example, can be useful when
putting wires into a fracture to hold it in place.
"If there's a nerve nearby and you put the drill on forward, you can
wrap up the nerve," says Dr. Lincoski. "So sometimes we put it on oscil-
late, which prevents the nerve from winding around the wire."
One critical design feature of the drill is the safety lock that will stay
secure, even if it's bumped. You don't want the drill turning on unex-
pectedly. And you also want it to shut off when it's supposed to.
"When I'm sawing or using a burr, I want to know that as soon as I
take my finger off the trigger, the device is going to stop," says Dr.
Biggerstaff.
And in case it doesn't stop, it's important to look at a company's
repair history and its reputation for servicing the equipment. A tool
may be durable and easy to use, but it's also important to assess the
reliability of the customer service behind it. "If the company that's sell-
ing a device doesn't have good representation and doesn't service their
product well, to me that's a big downfall," says Dr. Biggerstaff.
• Cords and batteries. Handheld power tools come power-corded
or battery operated. With those that plug into the wall, the cord is just
one more thing draping off the surgical field that possibly could get
contaminated. Or a team member could be leaning on the cord with-
out realizing it, creating a pull on the surgeon.
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