Surgical Operating Room Instrument Checklist

World wide data about the surgical checklist demonstrates that it reduces morbidity and mortality. A World Health Organisation encourages surgeons across the world to use the checklist while operating on patients. The use of WHO surgical safety checklist in the operating room lowers the risk of miss happening during Medical surgery.

This checklist is based on the successful international program “Safe Surgery Saves Lives”.

There is no country in the world where no mistakes are noticed during operating the patients. Checklist consists of three columns, which correlates to the three phases of an operation. These three phases are:

Before anaesthesia (Sign-in)
Before skin incision (Time-out)
Before leaving the operating room (Sign-out)

In medical-surgical operating room instrument checklist, all the information about the instruments is given which are used in an operation. It is meant to help in planning operating rooms. Setting surgery tray properly according to the type of surgery being conducted is valuable and important in any surgery. Proper setup and arrangement of surgical tray helps the surgeon not only perform the surgery efficiently, but it also allows him to have all his preferred surgical instruments easily available. Surgical technicians have to understand the requirement of each specific surgeon’s for proper surgical tray arrangement. Wide ranges of instruments are used in the surgical operating room, some standard instruments are used for most surgeries and other are specialized for specific type of surgery. A general instrument tray consists all of the following instruments:

Clamps: Clamps are also known as haemostats and is used to stop bleeding from vessels. Many size and types of clamps are available in the market.

Retractors: It is known as retracting instrument it is used to separate incision edges and restrain internal body structure. Two type of retractor are hand-held retractor and self-retaining retractor.

Forceps: function as grasping tool which is used by surgeons for grasping tough tissues. Some forceps are used to deliver babies however others are used as needle forceps which are used to needles to carry out various suture procedures.

Needle holders: Needle holders are used to attach suture and it comes in the category of suturing instruments. Size of these needle holders depends on the type of the surgery for which they are needed.

Suction: Suction tubes are used to remove the blood from the area being operated on to allow the surgeons to view and work on the area.

Surgical scalpels: Scalpels have a handle to hold the device and a blade attached on another end to make incisions. These blades are sharp and made from fine quality steel of medical-grade.

Surgical scissors: Used to cut bandages, sutures or even tissue. This is an instrument which is used in all type of surgery.

Specialized Instruments:

Instruments used in Orthopaedic or bone surgery: Orthopaedic tray includes bone cutter called rongeurs, saw, screwdrivers, hammer, drills, steel pins and metallic plates to cut and scrape the bones. This type of surgery is performed on joints, muscles and bones.

Instruments used in micro surgeries: micro surgery instruments are used in the surgery of neurology, vascular, eye, hand. These instruments are smallest of all the services.

Instruments used in gynaecology and urology: Dilation instruments which is part of kit used in urology and gynaecology.

Different surgery services have its own surgery tray with some devices of general instrument tray added to it. Frequently used instruments are sterilized properly and separately from those which are not often used. It plays an important role in the patients post-operative health. Microscopes and air compressors are not sterilized.

It is extremely important to ensure that the instruments being used are properly sterilized and have been purchased from the right source. Quality and precise instruments are the most important aspect of the instruments being used during a surgery.

GPC Medical Limited supplies and manufactures the best instruments in the medical industry. They are used indigeneously by the surgeons in India and are also widely exported to many countries.