don't need to stock
nearly as many tow-
els, as much tape,
or as many sizes
and kinds of wraps.
A neat feature of
containers: Wire
baskets that sit
inside the container
can hold all the
items of a set that
don't fit into the container. Time savings are an additional benefit to
containerizing. Having a vendor make a last-minute drop off for a sur-
geon who has an early case is time-consuming. Wrapping a large num-
ber of sets can lead to poor technique, compromised sterilization and
potentially delayed start times.
The rap on containers
This is not to say containers are without drawbacks of their own.
They're more expensive initially than blue wrap ($300 to $500 per
tray, but they can last 10 years). You have to maintain your sterile
container system. Then there's storage. One of the nice things about
blue wrap is that it's easy to store. Containers take up so much more
room. You have to create enough shelving space to store your con-
tainers. We had to buy additional wire shelving. Remember, a single
knee replacement case will call for as many as 10 instrument pans.
In instrument sterilization, moisture is the enemy. Early on, we were
removing instruments too quickly from the hot autoclave and conden-
sation was seeping inside the containers. We noticed the problem and
increased the dry time. Our containers have 2 indicators that tell us a
1 0 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 • M A R C H 2 0 1 6
• HARD TO SPOT Wrapper holes are often found at the point of use, causing a potential
delay of patient care and increases in immediate-use steam sterilization. Even from the
inside of the wrap, it's sometimes hard to see a tear.
George
Corona,
ORT
