We had one person who got stuck because a nurse left a shaving razor blade in the patient room without discarding it and the housekeeper stuck it back in our nurse server, the aide reached it not thinking that anything like that would be in there and got stuck. Because she was stuck we knew that this was a problem and were more cautious about sticking our hands somewhere. Another nurse got stuck by trying to open Lipid bottle with a pair of used dressing scissors and got stuck. If she hadn't reported it, we may not have known the patient was Hep C positive. Bad for the patient and the nurse who should have known better. Report, Report, Report. It is a pain in the butt, but you can save yourself heartache later.

Access Scientific

In 1953, the newly introduced Seldinger Technique represented a significant improvement in vascular access technology. Later, the Modified Seldinger Technique further advanced ease-of-access, by using a dilator coupled with a sheath, and eventually evolved into today’s standard, over-wire insertion technique. Despite its advantages, hazards are associated with the Modified Seldinger Technique. These include: accidental needlestick injury, guidewire embolus,contamination, bleeding, lost cannulation during the procedure… and more. The WAND enables healthcare
providers to utilize the new Accelerated Seldinger Technique, representing a quantum leap forward in vascular access technology.

The WAND is an all-in-one (needle-guidewire-dilatorsheath) safety introducer that speeds over-wire vascular access while reducing the risk of guidewire embolus, contamination and accidental needlestick injury. Experienced clinicians are hailing The WAND as the new standard in vascular access technology—faster, safer and simpler.

The Accelerated Seldinger Technique reduces the number of exchanges and steps necessary for vascular access.  It reduces the risk of air embolism, contamination, guidewire embolus, loss of cannulation during the procedure, and accidental needlestick injury.

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A new product can eliminate "wire stick" injuries to clinicians. The SuperCable Iso-Elastic Cerclage, is manufactured by Kinamed Inc. (Camarillo, CA, USA) and has been used in several thousand procedures worldwide since being introduced in 2003. This elastomeric polymer cable consists of a nylon core encased in a jacket of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) braided fibers.

This combination of materials results in a flexible, soft cable that exhibits extremely high fatigue strength. Fatigue failure is primary mode of failure of metallic cerclage wires and cables.

The SuperCable system cables can be re-tensioned effectively when multiple cables are applied. This reduces the need to cut off and discard metal cables that have become loose after additional cables have been applied and tensioned. Over time, this feature will reduce the total number of cables required for a given procedure.

Post operative x-ray of four SuperCables wrapped around an allograft strut and hip prosthesis in revision hip replacement surgery. Note the SuperCables are radiolucent except for their locking clasp.

The SuperCable has fatigue strength superior to both metal wire and cables thereby reducing complications due to breakage. It also eliminates cable-generated metal particle debris that has been shown to greatly increase wear in adjacent total joints. 

The cables are easy and quick to manipulate within the wound. Since the product is made of a polymer it contains no metal cable that can contact metallic implants and has no sharp ends to irritate patient tissue or cut surgeon's gloves.