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S H A R P S
S A F E T Y
hand. That might seem like obvious advice, but as this example
shows, sometimes the most obvious precautions are ignored in the
hustle and bustle of surgery. If your pager's going off, wait until you're
done handling the sharp and its tip or blade is covered or secured
before turning it off.
Anesthesiologists don't get stuck as much as surgeons or surgical team members do, but make sure they understand the danger
exists and have them take necessary precautions, including the
use of safety-engineered needle systems — there are plenty of
effective devices on the market today that protect users from
needlesticks after injections are made.
The selfish surgeons
A 72-year-old male patient has multiple medical problems, including
liver function abnormalities and renal failure, and is hepatitis C positive. During a brachiocephalic fistula procedure, the group of vascular surgeons working the case passes the surgical tech a bunch of
very fine sutures and needles at once. The tech has to grab the
mass without the required care,
resulting in a needlestick in her palm.
T
1 2 2
he physicians involved in this case tied and cut a series of
sutures and passed them back to the tech all together, which
isn't an ideal practice from a sharps safety perspective.
O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J A N U A R Y 2013
