Ten Commandments Of Surgical Instrument Care

Front 1

Know your enemies

Back 1

water and moisture of any kind are the primary caused of marks and stains on instruments (blood,pus,surgical debris, chlorhexidine solutions)

Front 2

know your enemies

Back 2

do not allow your instruments to air dry this can cause irreversible damage

Front 3

enemies

Back 3

do not cold soak in anything except an approved solution

Front 4

understand the causes of corrosion

Back 4

the primary corrosivce sulprits are surgical residues, tap water, cleansers, and surgical towels and drapes

Front 5

surgical residues

Back 5

blood, tissue, contain chloride ions that cause coorosion. with autoclaves: remember an autoclave does not clean it only sterilizes

Front 6

tap water

Back 6

container a high concentration of minerals. rinse instruements with disillted water, thoroughly towel dry immediately after washing. Or with the autoclave-extend the drying cycle of sterilization. this reduces the risk of condensation on instruments.
Wet surgery packs usually result in stained instruments

Front 7

cleansers

Back 7

nonapproved cleaning agents cause corrosion
those containing acid or alkaline agents lead to pitting and staining.
opimal ph = 9.2 to 11
do not use prvidone-iodine
dish or laundry detergent
surgeion's hand scrub.
these cause spotting and corrosion.
use a non-metal instrument-cleaning brush.

Front 8

surgical towels and drapes

Back 8

if you recyle laundry, use as little detergents as possible when laundering. use an extra rinse cycle. the residue detergents corrode the surgical instruments

Front 9

test for rust

Back 9

rust leaves permanent damage. rubbing a pensil eraser over a mark; if the mark is removed the mark is a stain, if their is a pit the mark represents corrosion or rust
discard rusted instruments immediately.

Front 10

clean immediately after surgery

Back 10

washing process should begin within 10 min. after surgery. washing the instruments within a few minutes of surgery is the best defense against corrosion, pitting, and staining.

Front 11

sterilize

Back 11

all surgical instrument must be sterile.
sterilize instruments with their jaws open.
never stack paper or plastic pouches on top of each other in the autoclave. stand them up on a holder

Front 12

ultrasonic cleaning
do not place dis-similar metals together

Back 12

16 times more efficient than hand cleaning. place instrument in a neutral-pH solution in the ultrasonic unit for 10 minutes.

Front 13

clean autoclaves regulary

Back 13

use only distilled water in the reservoir.
clean the filter regulary.
clean the chamber once a week.

Front 14

lubricate instrument regulary

Back 14

lubricate after every cleaning.
"instruments milk"

Front 15

never use cold sterilization

Back 15

not recommended it shortens the life of surgical instruments. never leave immersed for more than 20 min. never immerse tungsten carbide inserts in solutions containing bezyl ammonium chloride.