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S U R G I C A L
S A F E T Y
It could be argued that safety scalpels are the most controversial of surgical supplies. Despite the protection they offer against injuries, exposure and costly consequences; despite federal requirements for their use; despite improvements in the once-derided product field, safety scalpels are still a tough sell to physicians. In a survey conducted last month, we asked readers how often safety-engineered scalpels are used in their facilities, and for their best advice on putting them to routine use. Here's what you told us.
The numbers
Out of 124 respondents, 52% said that safety scalpels are never or rarely used at their facilities. In comparison, 17.9% said they're the only available option and 18.7% said they're used most of the time. General surgery, orthopedics and podiatry are the specialties in which they're most likely to be used.
About 60% report that none or few of the scalpels they stock are safety equipped, even though about 45% are their facilities' chief decision-makers or have significant input on purchasing, and 87% are conversant with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's
sharps injury safety mandate. On the plus side, 70.5% say they've trialed safety scalpels within the past 3 years, more than half of those trials taking place in the last 12 months.
Obstacles to use
Among the respondents who said safety scalpels aren't routinely used in their ORs, the most frequently cited reason wasn't a surprise.
"The surgeons still complain that they are more dangerous than the regular scalpels," says Jay Bowers, BSN, RN, CNOR, TNCC, the surgical services educator at West Virginia University Healthcare in Morgantown. "That the weight is different, or that they cannot see
