Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

The Future of Knee Repair - February 2016 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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moves while the rest of it stays still. This can limit collateral damage when sawing, and works very well for bunionectomies or total hip replacements, where you're trying to cut deep holes in the bone as opposed to slices. 4 Easy to assemble There are 2 basic ways to connect the handpiece to the chosen tip. The traditional chuck key option requires the surgeon to manually turn the end of the handpiece and attach the new tip. This can be time-consuming and complex, especially if you're changing tips frequently during a case. Newer options include a quick-release function that lets the surgeon press a button and enlarge the opening where the attachment is inserted. The surgeon can press the button, remove the tip and replace it extremely quickly. Another consideration is the assembly of the instrument itself. If your facility is going to be doing the reprocessing, make sure that your reprocessing techs can thoroughly clean and sterilize all parts of the tool. Products that are easy to assemble and disassemble make this task easier. You may also consider single-use tools for emergency situations or when one of your devices breaks down, though they tend to be expensive and increase your medical waste. 5 Better battery options Power tools can be tethered or battery operated. Tethered options are connected to a power source, or are powered by tubing connected to tanks of compressed air, known as pneumatic power tools. While tethered options are still used today in some heavy-duty surgeries — they work well when you need to cut through a metal implant — most surgeons prefer cordless options. A few years ago, battery options didn't produce high speeds and 6 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6

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