Medical Disposables

Medical Disposables are product designed for cheapness and short-term use rather than medium to long-term durability, with most products only intended for single use.There are various instruments used in the surgery involving the eye.Maintaining sterility or cleanliness of the instruments is the issue.There are instruments that could be reused and there are other instruments that should be disposed.Opening a packet of Disposable instruments is done by the operating room or staff before performing ophthalmic surgery is as routine as scrubbing in.However have you ever wondered if these instruments are reprocessed single-use devices-and, if so, whether they have been reprocessed correctly, according to government standards?While this is a rare and extreme case of misuse, it does raise the question of whether the reuse and reprocessing of single-use devices should be more tightly regulated.At this time, the Academy does not have a formal policy on the issue.Several aspects of single-use devices and the practice of ophthalmology should be considered before any guidelines are developed.This is an issue where there are no absolutes.This shows that one may be applicable for one type of single-use device, for example a microdensitometer blade, but may not be relevant for another device, like for example in a phaco emulsification tip.

Secondly, there is a need to take into consideration several issues, including whether the design of the instrument or device is amenable to reuse, whether it can be appropriately sterilized, whether reuse will compromise its function in any way, potentially altering outcomes and whether the device will perform at the same level with the same quality for multiple uses given proper sterilization techniques.But again, this needs to be determined on a case to basis. Most medical products were considered to be reusable, defined as equipment that is used and reprocessed multiple times.This included equipment that could be soaked in solutions of glutaraldehyde, hydrogen peroxide or per acetic acid and used again.Several factors led to the introduction of single-use devices, including a demand for disposable equipment, the development of new plastics and the availability of ethylene oxide sterilization.The FDA maintains that the practice of reprocessing single-use devices expanded when an increasing number of hospitals decided that reuse was a cost-saving measure and an answer to the concerns of medical waste. When reprocessing became too complicated for hospitals and physicians, an industry of third party re processors evolved to help hospitals in their quest to lower costs by reusing equipment designed for single use.