sure they're doing the
right things every
time. But once you've
done that, it becomes
just another routine
step in the process. It
adds maybe 30 sec-
onds per tray. And the
results — the longevi-
ty and the quality of
the instruments —
speak for themselves.
To the letter
We're talking so far
about instruments
that bite, cut, grab or
align. That functionali-
ty needs to be closely monitored and maintained. And of course it
starts in the OR. We don't ask a lot from OR staff, but we do ask them
to remove any major debris and spray equipment down before they
load it up and send it back to us. We have a spray product we keep in
the OR — one that combines a surfactant-based gel with corrosion
inhibitors — so we make it pretty simple for them. The spray keeps
the equipment moist and helps with the cleaning when it gets to the
decontamination area.
We all know that regulatory bodies are really focused on making
sure instruments are cleaned, because if they're not, they can't be ster-
ilized. I've seen a lot of changes in instrumentation over the years,
with everything becoming very service-specific, so training comes
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O U T P A T 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 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5
z EASY REFERENCE Extend the life of surgical
instruments by following IFUs to the letter.
Mark
Lunz
