Cleaning of surgical instruments manually and using an ultrasonic machine

Surgical Instruments must be properly sterilized and cleaned by the hospital staff to protect their patients from infections and transmitted diseases. Sterilization and cleaning are also necessary to maintain a high life span of surgical instruments and to ensure that they work efficiently. To keep up with the maintenance of surgical instruments, the healthcare staff can opt numerous ways. Among those ways, one of the best ways is to use an ultrasonic machine. Ultrasonic machines are not only time effective but also effort effective.

Manual cleaning process 

The healthcare staff must know that any surgical instrument must be cleaned after being used. If the residue or blood is left on the surface of surgical instruments, then they can corrode and get damaged. Therefore, they must be cleaned right after being used and the staff should ensure that nothing is left on the surface. They should be washed with warm water and kept in a detergent for 15-20 minutes. The detergent used must be the one that is designed specifically for the instruments.

Cleaning using an ultrasonic machine

After the manual process of cleaning, the instruments must be cleaned in an ultrasonic machine. The instruments should be dried properly and put in the ultrasonic machine that is filled with the ultrasonic cleaning solution. The healthcare staff should ensure that sharp ended instruments are sunken in the liquid carefully to avoid rubbing against each other. The thing that is used to put the instruments in the solution should also be left inside.

After ensuring that everything is kept inside properly, the ultrasonic machine should be turned on. The instruments should be cleansed there for 5 to 10 minutes. After this, the thongs that were used to insert the instruments should be used to remove the instruments. Then they should be dried and kept in a sterilized instrument tray. They should be kept separately and not over each other to avoid any damage.

Advantages of using an ultrasonic machine

Surgical instruments are delicate, intricate, and complex in design. They must be cleaned and sterilized properly. If there is no process of automated cleaning, then the staff would have to clean every nook of it by hand which is time-consuming and often neglected as well.

Ultrasonic cleaning ensures to provide an effective way to clean surgical instruments. Multiple surgical instruments can be cleaned at once from delicate instruments to heavy ones. Through the process, the scrubbing action reaches irregular surfaces and small crevices, ensuring that the instruments are not damaged in any way. The residue and blood on the instruments are also dislodged through the way the machine is designed and it ensures to provide effective cleaning results. Using ultrasonic machines to clean the surgical instruments is safer for the healthcare staff. They are prevented from inhaling harmful chemical fumes and avoid getting in contact with biological contaminants. They are also safe from getting hurt through sharp instruments while cleaning them. All they have to do is place surgical instruments in the ultrasonic machine, add the solution and turn the machine on. The use of ultrasonic machines is effective in every way possible than hand-cleaning or using other machines. Ultrasonic machines consume less water than the other methods and they are also energy efficient. They perform the task quicker than other methods.