T
he best
way to
extend
the
lives of
delicate and expen-
sive surgical instru-
ments is to keep
them from wearing
out or getting dam-
aged in the first
place. Everything
wears out eventual-
ly, but at our hospi-
tal we've developed
a system that puts
an absolute premium on keeping instruments in the best possible
condition for the longest possible time. That's important, because at
UPMC Presbyterian, our flagship hospital here at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center, we handle more than 2,000 cases a
month, which means we're processing just south of 4 million instru-
ments a year. It's a huge investment and we can't afford to cut cor-
ners or treat instruments with anything less than the care they
deserve.
1 0 4
O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Take Better Care of Your
Surgical Instruments
Tips for extending the lives of your delicate and
expensive tools. Mark Lunz | Pittsburgh, Pa.
z KIND OF A DRAG? Use a piece of latex
to determine whether a tool is dragging
and needs to be sent out for repairs.
Mark
Lunz
