isn't autoclavable, so it's unsterile. You open the back of the tool, and
drop the battery in there.
• Attachments. This one's pretty straightforward: Does the tool
accommodate all of the types and sizes of attachments such as drills
and wire drivers that your surgeons need to perform their surgeries?
Most will, but you need to confirm with your surgeons and the ven-
dor. Many tools also include universal adapters for increased versatili-
ty.
• Durability. It's hard to gauge how long these power tools will last
without needing to be repaired or discarded. Honestly, I don't know if
durability ultimately is representative of the product itself or the sur-
geons who are using them. It's not like we're gentle with these tools in
the OR. As any surgeon will tell you, when we pull the trigger and the
tool won't run, almost universally we'll ask for a mallet to hit it on the
side to hopefully kick it into gear. Make sure there's enough of a sup-
ply of these tools in the OR that when one doesn't work, another one
is ready to go. If necessary, arrange for loaners or demo units to use if
no others are available.
• Smarter tools. Some newer tools provide feedback that can
increase a surgeon's accuracy. Take plunge, for example. When sur-
geons want to drill through bone without inadvertently "plunging" into
good tissue, they benefit from getting feedback about when to stop
drilling. I've seen drills that automatically stop when you've reached
the end of bone and are about to drill into tissue. It's really neat tech-
nology, but it doesn't have widespread adoption yet because it's cost
prohibitive. If these more intelligent tools were similar in cost to regu-
lar drills, I think they'd be used almost universally. For now, know
that experienced surgeons are well-versed in measuring depth manu-
ally. I'm not certain the added cost of these high-end tools is worth it
when surgeons can take an extra 10 seconds to measure bone depth
Thinking of Buying …
TB
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