October 31, 2012, Ms. Analyn Salivio of MDH Operating Room Complex gave me a disposable safety scalpel to try out on a patient for excision-cauterization of a wart on the foot. I thanked her for this learning opportunity and experience. In the pictures, I documented step-by-step how I used this disposable safety scalpel. The sliding shield on the blade definitely offers protection from blade injury. In the past, I had described some ways of protecting surgeons and nurses from medical sharps injury, one of which is using the “kidney basin” as the neutral zone without hand-to-hand passing of sharp surgical instruments (see my other FACEBOOK album – “Medical Sharps Safety in the Operating Room.” The use of safety scalpel as seen in this album is another measure on medical sharp safety in the operating room. There are other measures. In the end, cost-effectiveness and efficiency will decide which measure or combination of measures the administration of operating room theaters will institute. No measure is 100% foolproof. Ultimately, it will still be the vigilance of the surgeons and the nurses against sharps injuries that will be the critical factor in avoiding sharps injuries for the members of the operating team. Recommend visit: https://mdhsharpswastemgt.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/how-to-avoid-surgical-sharps-injuries-during-an-operation-in-the-operative-field.
MDH Sharps Safety and Waste Management Program 