they are not easy to use," says Joy E. Stuckert, LPN, OR coordinator
at Morrill County Community Hospital in Bridgeport, Neb.
If they're not used as intended, safety scalpels are more dangerous
than traditional scalpels — especially for staff. The physicians at
Grant Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, expect staff to remove the
guard or retract the blade before passing the scalpel to the surgeon
"so they can use it immediately," says Marla Douridas, BSN, RN,
CNOR, clinical nurse manager. Of course, passing a safety scalpel to
the surgeon and then receiving it after its use with the blade exposed
would defeat the whole purpose of using it in the first place.
There's also a concept called "risk homeostasis," which says that
instituting safety measures could lead to people becoming overconfi-
dent and taking risks they'd otherwise not take.
Scalpel injuries rep-
resent around 1 in 10
of all sharps injuries,
but the severity of
scalpel blade injuries
is of greater concern
than the frequency, as
they can be deeper
than needlestick
injuries and can cause
serious injury. Ten
years ago, back when
she was a scrub, Ms.
Stuckert was stabbed
by a blade coming
back from the sur-
geon.
M A Y 2 0 1 9 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 9
viscotcs@viscot.com • www.viscot.com • 800.221.0658
®
Neutral Zone
Tray
S e e i t i n a c t i o n : w w w. b i t . l y / s o ff z o n e
Autoclavable
can be re-used for hundreds of procedures
