Perfect cleanliness is essential for surgical tools – they need to be perfectly free not only from visible dirt, but
from any other types of contaminants, including bacteria, viruses and bacilli.
The cleaning processes used need to be very thorough – here are the steps:
-
Mechanical cleaning through
rinsing – the first stage in cleaning is manual cleaning through rinsing and
the submergence of the instruments in suitable medium, such as water mixed with
an adequate, pH-neutral detergent;
- Cleaning with ultrasound for disinfection – the rinsed instruments should then be placed into a device that uses ultrasounds to remove invisible contaminants;
- Using automatic washer sterilizers – these devices handle the entire process from washing through disinfection and sterilization;
- The final sterilization phase – while manual cleaning is intended to remove visible dirt and disinfection is intended to render the instrument basically clean, it is the sterilization phase that ensures the complete cleanliness of the instruments;
- Checking and lubrication – the cleaning process should always conclude with a visual inspection and the application of proper lubricants in the case of the instruments that need lubrication. Skipping the final, lubrication phase can have serious consequences – the cleaned instruments that need the process could get stuck and damaged without it.
