Surgical Sterilisation Advances

28 June 2006

At the Southern Animal Referral Centre it is not uncommon to have five to seven major surgical procedures occuring on any given weekday. It is imperative that the process runs smoothly, which means that sterilisation procedures must keep pace with a hectic surgery list.

Surgical packs must be ready to be used, regardless of how many times the instruments have been in demand that day, instruments cleaned promptly and implants waiting for the procedure, rather than vice-versa.

The Southern Animal Referral Centre has undergone several recent upgrades to make this procedure smoother and faster, taking one more step towards human-hospital standards. To the client there will be no visible difference. To the vets and nurses, however, they now have a sterilisation system which is faster and safer for all involved.

The purchase and installation of a low-temperature plasma gas sterilisation system (Sterrad NX system) is a major advance for the Centre. Traditionally sterilisation has involved placing packs into a steam-driven autoclaves. Although very effective, packs have had to stand to dry after sterilisation, owing to the fact that condensation can occur as they cool. Further, there has been an ever-present safety issue with super-heated steam and hot instruments.

The use of a room-temperature plasma gas technology allows a sterilisation cycle of under 30 minutes, with sterilised materials being ready for use immediately.

The ability to complete sterilisation at room temperature also expands the possible range of items which can be sterilised. For example, ultrasound probes, cordless drills and even digital cameras, can be sterilised with no damage to the equipment. As technology in other areas advances, the ability to use it in a sterile environment with no risk of contamination allows virtually any implement to be introduced into the surgery field.

Room temperature sterilisation has been possible with other technologies, but they have had their issues, with dangerous and damaging radiation or toxic gas or liquid being used.

Of course, the introduction of one technology does not make the process perfect. In order to improve sterility, an in-house spore culture system has also been purchased. This allows biological tests to be run in-house on sterilisation systems. Daily use of this system allows for quality assurance of the sterilisation process, giving both owners and Centre staff peace of mind.

Another advance has been the installation of a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filtration system in the orthopaedic surgical theatre. This pumps air which is 99.9% pure of microbes across the surgery field and changes the room air 27 times an hour. This helps to achieve what is termed a positive pressure environment in the surgical theatre, where the theatre air pressure is greater than that of surrounding rooms. This means that the only flow of air into the theatre is from a clean source, while “dirty” air in the lower pressure surrounding rooms cannot enter through doorways or vents.

The process of improving sterility systems and procedures is neverending. There is a constant stream of new technologies and methodologies emerging from research institutions and best-practice human hospitals. The veterinary industry will accordingly continue to pursue improvements as they come within grasp of the humble vet clinic or vet hospital. At present, however, the Southern Animal Referral Centre is happy to consider its sterilisation capabilities amongst the best available in the veterinary market for your pet.

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